Wright Auction

Designed for the Venice Biennale of 1934, Sommerso a Bollicine was a technique invented and developed by Carlo Scarpa for Venini. It involved the application of several layers of bollicine (bubbly) glass with gold leaf submerged in a thick outer layer of clear glass. The visually stunning effects created by this technique represent a new level of technical and artistic sophistication at Venini, and the series has become an icon of 1930s design. Often imitated by other Murano companies, Sommerso a Bollicine was the first of many bold experiments by Scarpa that would come to define his legacy at Venini.

The example presented here exhibits spiraling details of bollicine glass suspended between layers of gold leaf and thick clear glass. This particular effect was difficult to obtain and only a few examples are known to exist.