Cristallo glass: Vase by Venini - German/German
The lattice tube glass vase in front of you is a product of the 20th century.
After the first peak of Venetian glass art, there was initially a decline in "Venetian glass" in the 18th century. The stable Bohemian chalk glass and the brilliant English lead glass had been invented and were henceforth in great demand. A renewal of Venetian glass art was only achieved again by two people who focused their attention not only on the perfection of craftsmanship but also on the artistic: Antonio Salviati and Paolo Venini.
Venini initiated the new beginning of Venetian glass in the 1920s. Around 1950, he put Venice back at the centre of glass art for a decade. His success was based above all on the collaboration of imaginative designers and qualified master glassblowers. At the same time, however, it was also based on the rediscovery of the original qualities of glass: lightness and clarity combined with simple but elegant and harmonious forms. Venini produced in small series for an exclusive, rather than large, clientele. On the basis of old techniques, he tried out new possibilities and came up with astonishing results. For example, he created his famous glass vessels "a zanfirico", named after Antonio Sanquirico, a Venetian art dealer of the 19th century, from complicated thread glass rods. Our lattice tube glass vase from 1955 is one of them.
Cristallo glass: Venini Vase - English
The lattice-grid vase in front of you is a 20th-century product. After the initial high point of Venetian glass art during the 18th-century it went into decline. The sturdy Bohemian chalk glass and brilliantly clear English lead glass had been invented and were in great demand. But two people, who didn't only focus on the perfection of craftsmen's ability, but also on artistic features, did manage to regenerate Venetian glass art: they were called Antonio Salviati and Paolo Venini.
Venini launched the new start for Venetian glass in the 1920s. In around 1950 he put Venice back in the centre of glass art for a decade. His success was mainly based on the collaboration between imaginative designers and qualified master glassblowers as well as on the rediscovery of the original quality of the glass: the lightness and clarity combined with simple, but elegant and harmonious shapes. Venini made small product ranges for his exclusive clientele instead of trying to mass-produce. On the basis of old techniques he tried and tested new possibilities and arrived at some astounding results. This was how he designed his complicated, yet famous "a zanfirico", glass receptacles. These were made of thread glass rods and named after Antonio Sanquirico, a 19th century Venetian art dealer. Our lattice-grid vase from 1955 is one of them.