Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => Murano & Italy Glass => Topic started by: twists on December 01, 2007, 04:27:37 PM
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I want to collect Dino Martens work ,I love his style, any tips on where to start.
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With your bank manager
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Probably the best place to start is to look at the higher level sites on the internet, e.g. Galleria Marina Barovier and the Olnick Spanu Collection (easy to google). Many stores and eBay have things labelled as Martens that may or may not be his designs. There is a book, Dino Martens: Muraneser Glas-Designer 1922-1963.
Werkverzeichnis, that you may want. I haven't seen the inside of the book yet -- it's in the mail :clap: -- so I don't know if it is good for beginners or not. I know that many books concentrate on the high level pieces and almost ignore the everyman's glass.
Are you most interested in Marten's color work -- e.g., Oriente, ElDorado, pezzato -- or the filigrana pieces? I love his color work, but my pocket book is way skinny.
Anita
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Thankyou for the reply .
I can recommend Dino Martens Book, by Marc Heireman, I brought it last year for my husband for Christmas. I think you will enjoy the book when you receive it in the mail.
I like his Zanfirico ,Filigree and his Oriente works, as I am privileged to see these techniques used everyday I appreciate the skills needed by the glass makers to apply these difficult techniques, but what I personally see in Dinos Work is an artist exposed to a new medium, the fascination of the end of day waste bucket, the endless possibilities of colour, and the need to experiment with everything. I believe he is one of the most important Murano designers of the 20th century.
My glass collection is small. I will take your advice and check out the sites you suggest, and follow my own advice and wait till the right piece for me comes available. As for the bank manager he will have to see it as a good investment.
I would be interested when you get your book to know which pieces you find appealing and why. I think the bowl on page 151 just beautiful.
I would like a piece of Linos work one day, at the moment I only have signed posters.
I do have a Richard Marquis piece which is my pride and joy. ( American artist)
I love my glass books, but feel ready to make the next step into collecting.
Thankyou for the good advice.
Sue H
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It sounds like you are miles ahead of me in your knowledge of Dino Martens. I enjoy his more familiar designs because of the color and detail. I ordered the book because I wanted to see a broader range of pieces he designed. Most internet sites show the same series of pieces, so it will be nice to learn more about his other designs. I recently bought a pezzato handled bowl that I believe may be Martens. The book may give me some idea.
Martens is certainly a good investment. I can't think of a better and more enjoyable way to invest.
Anita
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I checked out the Marina Barovier site :D worth looking at for the book collection alone.
But thank you for your help and advice, I have a lot to learn.
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You are starting from one of the most difficult name. So many copies, sold everywhere, also in galleries with a good reputation. The pieces designed by Martens are pretty simple to be reproduced and sometime it is hard to say which is the fake and which the original. My advice is not to care too much at the photos that you can find in the books, due to often they are reproduced following these photos. Some years agoo I had some pieces re-made in the same spirit (they are colourfull, nice shape and therefore a lot of clients like that style) and I sold them on my website (with a clear specification that they were contemporary production just inspirated by far to Martens' style) and immediately I received several requests from antiques dealers asking for copies identical to the photos in books.
Also considering the market quotation... think a lot before to buy!
Sincerely
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)
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Good sound advice, Alex. There are a lot of copies of both expensive and, surprisingly, inexpensive glass. Some of it is easy to tell if you know what you are looking at, but I imagine the good copies slip by even the most cautious eye. If a reproduction is good enough to fool even the experts, I wonder if anyone can ever judge if it is or is not original. Were your Martens copies signed by the person who made them?
Anita
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Yesterday I looked at a site called Italian Glass, it explained a bit about what you are saying. And about the glass made for tourists and how some of the clasic designs are still made today. As I said earlier my pride and joy is a small piece of work by Marquis , but it is unsigned,
it was made and given to my husband when he was on a masterclass. But I still get enjoyment from it on a daily base's and as it is not for sale, it makes no difference, as I know its providence.
I am going to enjoy finding the right piece.
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I have been collecting examples of Dino Martens work for a number of years and in order not to break the bank have a number of pieces which have blemishes, eg an Oriente bowl with a chip etc. These have been augmented by some lovely perfect pieces when funds have allowed, but the flawed items give me just as much pleasure and allow me to enjoy pieces that would otherwise be beyond reach.
I have employed a similar method in my Venini and Archimede Seguso collections with similar results, not everyones cup of tea but works for me.
Paul
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The pieces that I had, were "re-productions" in the same spirit, but they were not presented as Martens works. I attached a card with the master glassmaker name and the year of production to avoid possible confusions with the old original ones. The point is that I immediately received several request from antique dealers and traders who wanted reproductions copied from books. Due to I have seen so many pieces produced today sold as antique glass, I would not feel confident to buy glassworks too easy to be reproduced.
Sincerely
Alex
www.artofvenice.com (http://www.artofvenice.com)