Murano Glass and Brass Picture Frame in Smoke Grey Fumé Torchon from Barovier & Toso

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A weighty smoke grey murano glass picture frame, the border hand-twisted in the torciglione technique and set in a gilt-metal … Read more A weighty smoke grey murano glass picture frame, the border hand-twisted in the torciglione technique and set in a gilt-metal mount, attributed to barovier & toso, circa 1990s. Accommodates a 5 x 7 in (12.5 x 18 cm) portrait photograph.

the frame is built from a single thick rope of hand-blown murano glass, twisted while molten so the surface catches light along fine diagonal striations — the smoke-grey "fumé" tone reading clear and grey at once as it turns. The four corners are softly rounded, and a reeded gilt-metal cuff caps where the rope comes together at the top centre, the signature detail of the iconic design.

the hinged easel back carries an engraved "barovier-toso murano" mark. The torchon frame is one of the most recognisable forms in twentieth-century murano production, produced in this design across several decades and widely associated with the barovier & toso workshop.

condition is very good, with light surface wear and patina on the gilt-metal consistent with age and use.

a murano torchon frame in the scarcer smoke-grey glass is a collector's object as much as a functional one — a piece of venetian glassmaking tradition that reads as easily on a contemporary shelf as in a classic interior.

about the torciglione tradition:
the torciglione, or twisted-rope, technique is one of the signatures of murano glassmaking, requiring a hand-blown rod of glass to be twisted while still molten into a continuous spiralled rope. Framing it in metal to hold a photograph became a celebrated venetian object in the twentieth century, and the form is closely associated with barovier & toso — among the oldest and most prestigious of the murano houses, with a glassmaking lineage documented for centuries. I have official proof of authenticity such as vintage catalogs,
designer records,
or other literature sources and take full responsibility for any authenticity issues arising
from
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