Topic: AVeM Murano Latticino Millefiori ???

[Alz]

Hi!   :hi:

I'm new to this forum and also new(ish) to art glass collecting (perhaps five years?).  For the most part I buy what I like and for the most part that just happens to be Murano!!!

I have a piece which is at least 40 years old and was my grandmother's.  Neither of her sons (or their wives) were able to help me establish where it came from; although my mother did remind me my grandmother had a very wealthy, world-travelling sister-in-law.  The piece in question (photos below) does not have a label.  A girlfriend once suggested it may be Murano.  My efforts to find out more about its origin landed me at The Glass Encyclopedia where for the first time I saw something 'sort of' similar in the AVeM Glass gallery where I stumbled across Latticino Millefiori Murano.

As you can see this piece comes with a glass ball (approximately 1.5" diameter) which has a flat surface (measuring not quite 3/4") for balance.  When the ball is placed inside the piece it creates the illusion (IMO) of a clam-like shell containing a pearl.  The piece itself (I don't know how else to describe it other than 'piece') has two flat surfaces (neither of which are perfectly round and both of which measure around the 1.5" mark) for balance so it can be used on its side or standing up.  When on its side (which is how I display it), the piece measures approximately 6.5" across, 4.5" high, and 5" deep.  When standing up with the 'side flat surface' at the rear, the front side of the piece is lower than the rear (by approximately one inch) allowing both the gold flecking in the outer and the coloured glass on the inside to be seen.  The clear glass ball contains bubbles and has, at least for 40 years, been stored with the piece, and I suspect forms part of the overall piece.  Finally, the piece is fairly heavy for its size (I don't have scales sorry) and appears to be enclosed in a clear glass casing.  Phew.

I really want to identify this piece as it is what started my passion for art glass over 40 years ago.  So thank you in advance of any and all information you are able to provide.  Cheers ... Alz   

[rosieposie]

Hi Alz  :hi: Welcome to the GMB.
What a lovely piece of glass....I am sure someone will come to your rescue and tell you what it is,  but it looks as though you have done quite a bit of homework yourself.....it certainly looks like AVEM to me, but I am not the expert, there are others here far more knowledgeable than I am on these matters.
I will watch with interest.

[Alz]

Thank you so much for your response Rosie (?).  I am yet to invest in some good books about art glass, usually because I'm spending too much money on collecting the art glass itself LOL!  For the time being I'm enormously grateful for the www!  I hope you have a great day. 

[langhaugh]

Hi:

Definitely Murano and it certainly could be AVeM, although other companies created similar pieces. Often you will see these pieces with sections of zanfirico or what's often called latticino (I won't get too picky here) and murrines (which are what make up millefiori, a thousand flowers in Italian) in them, but these aren't in your piece. The colours comes from sections of glass picked up on the gather and I think there's also a some gold foil in the piece. The gold foil looks like a sheet of gold has been put into the glass and then fragmented. It is a clam shell and yet I've never seen one with a pearl before.   A very nice piece and something to treasure.

David

[Alz]

Thanks David!

I understand what you are saying in relation to the latticino, murrines and millefiori.  I'm glad to know the technique for how the colours were introduced.  There is definitely gold foil in the piece ... a lot of it!!

Do you have any idea why, if its intended as a clam shell which, I would imagine, would look best on its side, it has the flat base as well?  Would that be where the pontil was and then polished (?) (it has a smooth surface).  Is there any possibility that someone added the 'pearl' at a later date?  Is it possible to find out the approximate cost of a piece like this 'back in its day'?

Thanks again!!  Cheers ... Alz   

[Lustrousstone]

These clam shell shapes all seem to have two flat surfaces, presumably it's a design feature. One of them will be where the pontil mark was removed.