Lot 13

CARLO SCARPA (1906-1978) The highly acclaimed Venetian architect, furniture designer and educator, Carlo Scarpa, first began exploring the possibilities and applications of glass while serving as art director for the firm of Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin & C. Destined to become one of the most important figures in the world of Italian glass, Scarpa experimented early on primarily with milk-glass and delicately colored glass. His designs for Cappellin had their first official showing in 1927 at the Monza exhibition of decorative art and by 1928 his polychrome blown glass spherical vase (decorated in the filigrana or reticello techniques), with its simple yet timeless form (see lot 13) became the symbol of the company and marked the passing from the Art Deco style to that of the "Novecento." When the doors of Cappellin closed as a result of bankrupcy, Scarpa embarked upon a prolific career at the furnaces of Paolo Venini. His collaboration lasted from 1932 to 1947, and although he replaced Napoleone Martinuzzi as art director, his role went far beyond that of mere designer. Fascinated by the sculptural effects of shapes and the tactile values of surfaces, he explored the atmospheric subtleties of the material and the endless possibilities of texture. Revered for his filigrana and sommersi glasswares exhibited at the 1934 Venice Biennale, Scarpa is perhaps better known for his reinterpretation of the murrine technique and his innovative cutting and grinding processes which range from battuto (beaten) and inciso (incised), to velato (veiled) and granularo (granular). With his emphasis on surface values, his devotion to clarity and color, and his appreciation of technical challenges, Scarpa will long be remembered as one of the most influential designers of Italy's "Stile Novecento".

A 'RETICELLO' APPLIED GLASS VASE

CARLO SCARPA FOR M.V.M. CAPPELLIN & C., CIRCA 1927

Details

A 'RETICELLO' APPLIED GLASS VASE
Carlo Scarpa for M.V.M. Cappellin & C., Circa 1927
12¼in. (31.1cm.) high

Literature

Deboni, Murano '900, p. 146, fig. 62

Lot Essay

cf. Marino Barovier, Carlo Scarpa: Glass of an Architect, 1996, p. 192; David McFadden, Marino Barovier, et al, Venetian Glass: The Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu Collection, exh. cat., The American Craft Museum, 2000, p.47 for variants of the model

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