Large Murano End of Day Glass Fish Vase 1960s Murano, Italy

Details

Description

Large Murano End of Day Glass Fish Vase
1960s
Murano, Italy

This large and impressive Italian Murano glass fish vase … Read more Large Murano End of Day Glass Fish Vase
1960s
Murano, Italy

This large and impressive Italian Murano glass fish vase is executed in the colorful “End of Day” style. The elongated body is composed of opaque white glass boldly marbled with sweeping swirls of maroon, cobalt blue, green, yellow, and deep aubergine, the colors drawn into dense striations toward the pointed head and opening into broad, painterly curls along the body. The fish is finished with applied clear glass details, including a ribbed dorsal fin running the length of the back, a circular ribbed pectoral fin, and a textured fan-shaped tail, and it rests on its ventral fin and tail. The open mouth cleverly serves as the aperture of the vase.

At nearly two feet long this is a real statement piece, and it wants a spot where it can be seen in the round. Lay it along a console or a sideboard, set it on a mantel or a low bookshelf, or use it as the single object on a coffee table or a bar. It holds water and takes a few stems well, but it is just as good empty, read purely as sculpture. The swirled maroon, cobalt, and gold carry beautifully against a white wall or a pale lacquered surface, and the piece sits comfortably with midcentury furniture, coastal rooms, or a collection of other Murano glass.

Dimensions
Length: 21½ inches (54.6 cm)
Width: 4½ inches (11.4 cm)
Height: 7 inches (17.8 cm)

Provenance
North of England Collection.

Condition
Good.

Historical Context
The term “End of Day” describes glass of boldly marbled, multicolored appearance, and it takes its name from an old glasshouse practice: pieces of this character, sometimes called friggers or whimsies, were traditionally made by workers from the molten glass left in the pots at the end of a shift, which they were often permitted to use for small unique objects of their own, made for amusement or for extra income. By the middle of the twentieth century the look had become a style in its own right on Murano, produced deliberately and commercially, and a decorative piece of this scale and finish belongs to that later tradition rather than to the literal end of a shift. The appeal is the same either way, in the spontaneous color combinations and the freedom of the handling, and large examples such as this fish show the manner at its most exuberant.

Ref: NY11209-namx See less