Vintage Italian Vase in Light Blue Opaline Glass, 1970s

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Description

Item description:
Delightful cylindrical excavation vase with a bulbous base and slightly flared funnel mouth, made of blue opaline Murano … Read more Item description:
Delightful cylindrical excavation vase with a bulbous base and slightly flared funnel mouth, made of blue opaline Murano blown glass, with a white opaline glass rim applied hot in a spiral pattern on the main body of the vase, which widens from bottom to top. The object is entirely handmade and treated with acid to give it the look of an antique vase found in an excavation, a classic technique used by the artistic glassworks of Archimede Seguso, to whom we can attribute the authorship of this vase. The object can be dated to around 1970 and is unsigned, as is the case with many similar excavated glass vases. The glass used is very heavy and of excellent quality, considering that the vase, although not particularly large, weighs more than 1.2 kg.

Useful information for evaluating the object:
Our research shows that similar excavated glass objects, made in Murano by the Seguso glassworks, are auctioned at a minimum of €200-300 for the smallest ones and up to €4,000-5,000 for the largest and most important ones.

Information about the artist and/or manufacturer:
Archimede Seguso (Murano, December 17, 1909 – Murano, September 6, 1999) was an Italian entrepreneur and master glassmaker. Considered "a living encyclopedia of glass" (as defined by Giuseppe Cappa in the book "Le Genie Verrier de L'Europe," pp. 471, 510, and 511), he was one of the most famous Venetian glassmakers, distinguishing himself in the working of heavy glass (massello). He began working at the age of 17, becoming a master craftsman in the furnace where his father was a partner, until the crisis of 1929. He then founded his own workshop, which became the family glassworks and was transformed into Soffieria Barovier Seguso & Ferro and then, in 1933, into Seguso Vetri d'Arte, a company that marked the development of glass in the following decades. He collaborated with artistic director and designer Flavio Poli, with whom he had a significant working relationship. Archimede Seguso left this family glassworks in 1944 to found his own company, Vetreria Artistica Archimede Seguso. Here he was able to expand his horizons by reusing ancient glassblowing techniques and reworking 18th-century filigree, inventing famous "Filigrane" pieces such as "Merletti" and "Piume," as well as experimenting with other techniques using a wide variety of colors. He experimented and created glassworks of great personality with overlapping colors and strong chromatic contrasts using the "Sommerso" technique. He passed away in 1999, leaving behind numerous works, as well as an indelible mark of his creativity, in many contemporary art museums around the world. He exhibited his works at the Venice Biennales, the Milan and Liège Triennials, and many other exhibitions. In 1982, he participated in the exhibition "Mille anni del vetro" (A Thousand Years of Glass) in Venice at Palazzo Grassi and the Correr Museum, with several sculptures. In 1989, a solo exhibition was dedicated to him in New York at Tiffany & Co. In 1991, the City of Venice hosted "I Vetri di Archimede Seguso" (The Glasses of Archimede Seguso) at the Doge's Palace, the only living master at the time to have a solo exhibition in the Doge's Palace in Venice.


This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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