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Author Topic: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940  (Read 2385 times)

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Offline jinxi

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Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« on: September 07, 2010, 08:21:35 AM »
Hi, I am looking for more information on pieces of glass from this series, as I think - and hope - that an unmarked piece of glass I have may be from it.  I was wondering whether any of the members have a piece from this series or have had sight of a piece from this series or seen any pieces from this series for sale at auction etc.  I know that there are two pieces in the Olnick Spanu collection http://www.olnickspanu.com/Collection/CScarpa/089.00_266.html  but I do not have the Venini Blu Catalogue reference book or any other of the texts listed in the bibliography there. 

Firstly, I would love to hear from anyone else who has a piece or has done any research on this kind of glass.  Secondly, would the Venini catalogue show all the shapes that this series was produced in?  If so, is there anybody out there who would be prepared to scan in and send over the relevant page for me?

Many thanks

Veronica

Offline langhaugh

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2010, 09:41:44 PM »
Veronica:

I don't think that you would be able to tell from any of the publications cited in the Olnick Spanu book whether the piece you have is a genuine Scarpa piece. The drawings in the Blue Catalogue are small and don't give dimensions. Neither does it identify a series of these pieces. None of the pictures I've seen of pieces like this provide more information that the picture you have.

The lack of a acid stamp would concern me as far as attribution goes. I would check again very carefully as the stamp can be very faint, especially on curved pieces. I have a fazzoletto piece where I can't always see the  stamp.

I don't think anybody on the the GMB could reliably provide an attribution from a photograph of the piece either, unless they were sure it wasn't Venini. My suggestion would be to approach Venini itself. Send them them a good few pictures and ask them if it could could be a Scarpa. The other route would be to find a good dealer who could give you an opinion. This approach would involve soem payment.

Hope this helps a little.

David
My glass collection is at https://picasaweb.google.com/lasilove

Offline jinxi

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2010, 11:28:51 PM »
Thank you very much for the response David, since posting this and not receiving any reply before yours I subsequently purchased 'Glass of An Architect'.

I think I understand how difficult it is to attribute things without the stamp but according to this book there seem to be pieces which have been included as examples of this series which are also without the stamp.  It is not only that the glass looks right as per illustrations - and it is totally unlike any other piece I have ever seen - it is also in a documented colourway. However, the way that it fundamentally and radically changes when the light strikes it is what really has me convinced!

I shall carry on digging to see whether I can unearth any more about these pieces.

Thank you again

Veronica

Offline langhaugh

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2010, 04:25:26 AM »
Veronica:

At the very least, you seem to have a piece that is very close to a Scarpa piece. You've obviously done the research on the colourways and form so you have good grounds for believing it might be Venini. That's all the more reason to contact the company. They really are very helpful, as I, and a couple of other members of the GMB, have found out in the past. Their site is http://www.venini.it/eng/home.htm and you can an email address off that.

David
My glass collection is at https://picasaweb.google.com/lasilove

Offline jinxi

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2010, 08:15:03 AM »
Thank you David, that is really interesting to know, I was aware that they offered to 'look' but I am interested to hear of people that have actually done it and found them helpful.
 
By the way, Marino Barovier calls them the veiled series and there is another one, same year, called the clouded series, one is irradiated and one has the surface softened by grinding.  Some crossover between the two.

Veronica


Offline jinxi

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2010, 04:33:30 PM »
I have been thinking about your suggestion again, I don't really understand what Venini could offer in this way given that, as I understand it, their back catalogues are either all published or were destroyed in a fire.  I can see that they might be of great help in determining a good copy from a real piece, but, even then, wonder whether that would be possible merely from photos and surely they would not be categorical that it was one of their pieces without handling it?

For example, in the case of Barovier, they say that they have hundreds of unpublished design drawings and old photos etc. so I could see potentially that they could be of enormous help.

I have no knowledge of this area so in order to help me undertand more fully, would you give me an example of in what kinds of ways they have been able to help you or someone else you know of, so that I can better understand in my mind how all this works?

Also, would a good auction house make up their own mind or merely refer something back to Venini, say, if in doubt?

Thanks again

Veronica

Offline langhaugh

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Re: Venini Scarpa Iridati series of 1940
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2010, 04:55:51 PM »
Veronica:

I understand your doubts about whether Venini could provide a precise attribution to you from photographs. However, you face the same issue when you try to identify your piece using photographs in books. What I was suggesting was that you were more likely to get useful information from Venini than most other sources, unless you pay a fair bit of money for that advice.

You may be like me in that you're reluctant,  for a number of reasons, to approach a company. Yet I've found some companies, including Venini, only too willing to help. You find out more in a simple email than you would in hours of internet searching. When I was in Murano, I went in to Venini with pictures of a chandelier I had bought second hand. The person spent about 45 minutes with me trying to ascertain whether it was Venini, and apologized as the person who would be able to tell was on holiday at the time. She even gave me a catalogue of Venini  lighting to take away. Another person I advised to contact Venini found them very helpful in identifying a chandelier she had  and even produced some replacement parts for the chandelier.

In your case, we're talking about an important piece of Venini history, and so I think they would be interested in getting involved. Of course, I could be wrong, but what have you got to lose, only the time composing an email shorter than the ones you've posted here.

David



PS I'd love to see some photographs of the piece, as, I'm sure, would others on the board.
My glass collection is at https://picasaweb.google.com/lasilove

 

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