Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: horochar on November 24, 2010, 11:51:32 PM
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This is a large, thick and heavy vase, measuring 14 1/2" (36 cm) tall. The colors and effect remind me of marble. Signed with foil Galliano Ferro sticker. Can anyone tell me who designed it, name of technique, when it was made and if it is part of a series?
Thanks,
Charles.
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Two close ups.
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According to Murano Magic, Giorgio Ferro was artistic director and did some designs for pieces entered in the Venice Biennales. Some other exhibited works were "based on designs by Fulvio Bianconi." I don't know if this is one of those pieces.
GF also had a number of excellent glassblowers, Vittoria Ferro and Lino Tagliapietra, for example, both of whom could create something like this on their own. I can't think of seeing a name associated with this technique. There isn't a whole bunch published on GF so it might be hard to get an attribution here. If you were really enthusiastic, I suppose the route to go would be to see if there was anything like it ever entered in the Venice Biennales.
How good do you think the piece is, Charles?
David
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I can't contribute anything, other than I think it is a very nice piece of glass. I love the colors and decor.....
Craig
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I think it's a very good piece and somewhat unusual for Murano. The purples and blues are rich and attractive, maybe even striking. It has me stumped though because the technique rings no bells (A Seguso, any Toso or Barovier). Obviously it's my hope it's an "older" piece, as in '50s/'60s. I did find another marbled piece on the net. (I'm not a member so I don't know what it fetched).
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rare-vintage-murano-galliano-ferro-art-glass (http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rare-vintage-murano-galliano-ferro-art-glass). I prefer mine in terms of color and design; this one is (to me) fussy and I generally prefer simple. No doubt they're from the same series so maybe it lends a clue as to designer and vintage?
Thanks.
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Charles:
My sense is that the success of a vase like this lies less in the complexity or originality of the technique and more in the taste of the person arranging the colours for the vase. I would guess that the colours comes from rods picked up up on the gather, marvered, and blown. It's a technique you'll see in many studio glass pieces around North America today. The colours could be picked up in different layers, with clear between, for example, and the finished product might be cased in clear, but it's still pretty much the same process. For it to work well, you need an experienced blower, who can envision how the colours will work together, and to recognize when enough work has been done on the hotworked piece to produce a satisfactory end result. The named technique that comes closest to this is probably calcedonia, where the swirls of colour are designed to represent a particular type of stone.
In other words, I think it may well be be a very attractive piece, but a relatively simple one to produce. That's why the style hasn't a name beyond marbled glass. I'd be interested in hearing from someone who has blown glass about they think, as all my knowledge here is totally theoretical.
It is a very nice piece, I agree, but it may not be quite so rare or valuable as you might think.
David
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Whatever it's worth (hopefully more than the $70 I paid) it's quite beautiful and works nicely in my living room. It's presently sitting between two Flavio Poli S.V.C.C. green & gold vases. Still, it would be great to know more about the piece, including vintage (for starters, what period of time was this blackamoor foil label in use?). Nice to think it may have been blown by Lino Tagliapietra during his tenure with the company. The other Murano glass utilizing this technique or a similar one is Moretti. I own a bowl with marbled/swirling yellow and brown. The Moretti pieces are much, much thinner. This Ferro is very thick walled and heavy.
Thanks for all the responses, friends.
Charles.
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That is one superb vase, Charles. The colors are very attractive. I say a good find indeed.
tam bam