38: ERCOLE BAROVIER, Rare Egeo vase < Design Masterworks, 19 May 2016 < Auctions | Wright: Auctions of Art and Design

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Ercole Barovier
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Rare Egeo vase

Barovier & Toso
Italy, 1960
rectangular glass tessere 14½ h × 4½ dia in (37 × 11 cm)

estimate: $30,000–50,000

result: $45,000

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provenance: Clara Scremini Gallery, Paris | Galerie Marc André Hubin and Denis Bosselet, Paris | Galerie Yvonne Benda, Zurich | Colette and Jean-Claude Bester, Paris
exhibited: XXX Biennale Internazionale d'Arte, 1960, Venice
literature: Il Vetro di Murano alle Biennali 1895-1972, Barovier, Barovier Mentasti and Dorigato, pg. 91 illustrates this example Venetian Glass 1890-1990, Barovier Mentasti, pg. 100 illustrates model Ercole Barovier 1888-1974: Vetraio Muranese, Dorigato, pg. 111 illustrates model Italian Glass Murano Milan 1930-1970, Ricke and Schmitt, ppg. 259, 298 illustrate model

Egeo

Dynamic Aesthetic

The present lot featured in a period photo from the XXX Biennale, Venice, 1960. (Photograph courtesy of Marino Barovier)

Designed in 1960, Egeo is another example of Barovier’s use of tessere in a novel and dynamic way. The oversized, jagged-edged tessere in opaque green and transparent amethyst glass convey an almost Pop-Art aesthetic while at the same time provide a poetic reference to classical antiquity. This is one of two known examples in this shape, the other is in the permanent collection of the Steinberg Foundation in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Ercole Barovier 1889–1974

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The nearly fifty year tenure of Ercole Barovier as artistic director, designer and owner of Barovier & Toso is unprecedented in the history of Murano glass, and the firm’s success stands as a testament to his singular artistic talent and entrepreneurial genius.

Born in 1889 to a Muranese family that could trace its origins back to the 13th century, Barovier did not train as a glassblower but had a great passion for glass and quickly distinguished himself as an innovative designer. He joined Artisti Barovier in 1919 at the age of thirty and found success designing vases in the mosaic technique. In 1930 he produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning Primavera series, the success of which encouraged him to continue his experiments.

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