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Al4.«k i_* \_*. ;►. *. ^ v x. V •Li^X- X-V fc i.*i-- ±fi.;-*ANTIQUES1950s glassware reflects distinct eraBy NADJA MARIL For The CapitalWhimsical, garish, abstract and graceful are all words, which while widely diverse, could be used to describe art glass made and collected during the 1950s.A few weeks ago I wrote a column about 1950s party fashions in which I described women wearing wide starched billowing skirts and severely pointed high heel shoes. Men in the 1950st not to be outdone by the women, wore wide flamboyant ties and on weekends relaxed in loud print Hawaiian and Hollywood shirts. Not surprisingly, glassware collected during that same decade took on the appearance of the most glamorous clothing of the eraOne of the most collectible and characteristic piece of glass made during the 1950s was the handkerchief bowl Designed by Paolo Venini and Fulvio Biancom in 1949, The Coppa a Fazzoletto as it was referred to in Italian, was created from squares of glass folded to resemble a piece of material A handkerchief becomes transformed into a bowl. Made in a variety of shapes and sixes, some had a surface resembling lace called latticino. while others were constructed of overlay glass with two different layers of colorOriginal handkerchief bowls from the Venini factory start in value at $100 and can exceed $1,000 However, there were many lesser copies made by other companies Also made in the 1950s, they lack the fluidity of the handblown Italianart glass. Derivative handkerchief bowls are worth between $15 and $45.Venini and Company was founded in 1921 in Murano. Italy by Paolo Venini, a lawyer from a glassmaking family. Venini had the vision to hire some of the finest artists, designers and craftsmen available to work in his firm. In 1924 he incorporated under the name Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini Cappellmfe Co Cappelin ’ was an antique Venetian glass dealer who helped foster the interest in reviving ancient glass decorating techniques such as filigrano techniquesCappellin left in 1925 to start his own company Ultimately one of Cappellin’s employees, architect Carlo Scarpo, became a designer for Paolo Venini in 1932 and became artistic director in 1933 Scarpo exhibited his heavy sculptural pieces in Sweden in 1938 and a collaboration began betweenseveral Scandinavian companies, their designers and Venini.The most influential Italian glass designer of the 1950s was Fulvio Bianconi, who started working for Venini in 1948. Before his career as a glass designer. Bianconi was an illustrator and cartoonist He made skillful use of color and used the medium of glass to create flowingorganic shapes Some pieces, signed Venini and attributed to Bianconi. sell for thousands of dollars A good example would be a pair of nine-inch tall ribbon vases, which sold a few years ago at auction for $4,000While designer pieces made for wealthy clientele command high3 Floors Of Quality Antiques Collectibles*ANTIQUES«* Estate Uquidatixms Constjfnments ** Monthly Thursday Auctions - Call For Dates TimesLargest Inventory In South County!4452 Solomons Island Rd.. Harwood. MD 20776Jusl 9 m/Jes souttt of Annapolis on W 2 ■ Opon 7 Days 1(^5*410-867-2219 * FAX 410-667-6738 * 800*24-61TheAnnapolis Antique GalleryWe Take Our Antiques SeriouslyKnowledgeable. Professional Dealer'. No Reproductions or Crafts. I n.....— rxi..prices, mass produced items are worth substantially less. Murano glass vases made for the tourist trade are currently worth between $45 and $85 each.Art glass from Italy was often signed with engraved signatures as welfas^ith paper and foil labels.Names to look for include ErcoleBarovier, who was the'headdesigner for Barovier and Tosco from 1947 to 1972. An artist and chemist, Ercole was a descendant of Angelo Barovier, the renowned 15th century artist and glassmakerthought to have perfected Venetian#,cristallo (Italian soda glass which resembles rock crystal) and “calcedonio (opaque glassresembling a type of agate) glass Ercole won numerous prizes and awards, particularly for his new innovative uses of murrine glass in the 1940s and 50s. whereby colored sections of cane are imbedding into hot glass creating the appearance of a mosaicCarrado MDmop Martens was the artistic director of Aureliano Toso from 1944 to 1963 Trained as a painter, with a degree from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venesia Martens is known for hisasymmetrical patchwork decoration and polychrome zanfirico creating colorful net like patterns beneath the surface of the glass.Flavio Poli was known for his sommerso decoration, a design technique in which small particles or larger colored glass shapes are encased in clear or translucently colored thick glass. From 1937 to 1963 he was artistic director of Seguso Vetri D'Arte and then founded his own factory in 1964 called Societa Veneziana di Conterie e Cristellerie. which oniv stayed open two years due to his deteriorating healthAnother region of the world making fine glassware during the 1950s was Scandinavia Finnish designers Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpeneva both made sculptural pieces in ice crystal for littala glassworks. Another important Finnish glass company was* Nuutajarvi. which made pieces designed by Raj Franck. In Sweden, the Orrefors Factory produced fine pieces designed by Sven Palmqvist Ingebord Lundin and Edvin Orhrstrom. Vicke Linstrand, at the Kosta glassworks, experimented with the use of luminous colors Generally Scandinavian glass brings lower prices than its Italian counterparts
Newspaper Details
Capital Gazette
Annapolis, Maryland, US
Fri, Feb 19, 1999
Page 33
Full Page
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Anonymous
MD, USA 07 Oct 2018
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