Oversized 25" Signed Cenedese Murano Scavo Art Glass Perfume Bottle, 1990

Details

Description

An extraordinary oversize Cenedese Murano art glass perfume bottle or sculptural decanter, hand-blown in Murano and signed and dated on … Read more An extraordinary oversize Cenedese Murano art glass perfume bottle or sculptural decanter, hand-blown in Murano and signed and dated on the underside “Cenedese Murano Oct. 1990.”

Measuring an impressive 25 inches tall, this large-scale work transforms the traditional perfume-bottle form into a dramatic piece of sculptural art glass. Its substantial proportions and exuberant color give it remarkable presence in an interior.

The broad, flattened bottle is decorated in saturated turquoise, orange-red, cobalt blue, violet, green, and soft lavender, arranged in sweeping, rhythmic bands that flow down the body of the vessel. The shoulders rise into a narrow cobalt-accented neck, above which sits a frosted glass collar supporting a dramatic pointed ovoid stopper. The stopper is itself beautifully worked, echoing the palette of the vessel below in concentric passages of cobalt, green, red, violet, and turquoise.

The composition is unified by Cenedese’s distinctive scavo surface treatment. From the Italian vetro scavato, or “excavated glass,” the technique was developed on Murano to evoke the softly weathered appearance of ancient archaeological glass. The deliberately matte, subtly textured surface diffuses the intensely colored glass beneath, giving the vessel a wonderfully soft, almost painterly appearance that changes dramatically with the light.

Cenedese is one of Murano’s important 20th-century glass houses. Founded in 1946, the company became known for combining traditional Venetian glassmaking with innovative modern design and collaborated over the decades with significant artists and designers including Napoleone Martinuzzi, Fulvio Bianconi, and Antonio Da Ros. Scavo glass became one of the house’s particularly recognizable specialties.

At approximately 25 in. H × 9 in. W × 5 in. D, this example has considerably greater physical presence than the smaller tabletop Cenedese bottles and vessels more commonly encountered. Its flattened sculptural profile also allows the layered decoration to shift visually as the piece is viewed from different angles.

The underside retains its hand-inscribed Cenedese Murano signature together with the unusually specific date Oct. 1990, documenting its Murano manufacture and date.

A spectacular example of late-20th-century Italian art glass—equally compelling as a collectible Cenedese work or as a dramatic statement object in a contemporary, modernist, or eclectic interior.

Maker: Cenedese
Origin: Murano, Venice, Italy
Date: October 1990
Material: Hand-blown Murano glass
Technique: Scavo surface treatment
Dimensions: 25 in. H × 9 in. W × 5 in. D
Form: Oversize perfume bottle / sculptural decanter
Markings: Hand-inscribed “Cenedese Murano Oct. 1990” to underside
Provenance: Private family collection

Condition: Very good vintage condition consistent with age and the nature of the scavo glass technique. The intentionally matte, textured, and weathered surface is characteristic of scavo glass and is part of the original manufacture rather than damage. Surface variations, rubbing, marks, and areas of wear are present, including around the neck/stopper contact area and on portions of the body, as shown in the photographs. No major chips, cracks, or repairs observed. Original removable stopper is present. Please review all photographs closely as they form an important part of the condition description. See less