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Lot Essay
Arguably the depth of Carlo Scarpa’s aesthetic vision and his ability to innovate and experiment to the limit of the medium of glass is exemplified at its best in the Laccati Neri e Rossi series. The interaction between tradition and innovation, as well as between form and surface treatment, continually intrigued and challenged Carlo Scarpa during his decades-long exploration of glass production. The Laccati series, first introduced at the XXI Venice Biennale in 1940, epitomises the confluence and realization of these profound but disparate concepts.
Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese ceramics and lacquer work, Scarpa endowed each vessel specific to this series with a simplistic shape, a brilliant colour palette limited to red or black, or a combination of the two; and an exquisite lacquer-like finish masterfully achieved through a complex reinterpretation of the use of murrine. The present lot is an extremely rare and superb example. The purity of the shape and colours, suggests clarity and strength, while the lacquer-like sheen testifies to Scarpa's unprecedented ability to conjure the subtlest effects from his material and innovative techniques. The two separate elements of the bowl, the red and the black, are joined together using an exceptionally complex technique called incalmo. The incalmo is obtained by hot-joining two blown semi-spheres of different colour which are then modelled in a bowl, this technique involves highly skilled craftsmanship. Almost seventy years after its conception, this piece is an authentic expression of Scarpa’s brilliance and an aesthetic which was well ahead of its time.
Due to the complex manufacturing techniques and high production costs, very few pieces were produced. Two exceptional Laccati Neri e Rossi models from the August Warnecke Collection were sold at Christie's Paris saleroom, 21 November 2012, lots 11 and 12. A related example can be found in the Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu Collection, New York and the Steinberg Foundation Collection, Vaduz and in an important Swiss collection.
Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese ceramics and lacquer work, Scarpa endowed each vessel specific to this series with a simplistic shape, a brilliant colour palette limited to red or black, or a combination of the two; and an exquisite lacquer-like finish masterfully achieved through a complex reinterpretation of the use of murrine. The present lot is an extremely rare and superb example. The purity of the shape and colours, suggests clarity and strength, while the lacquer-like sheen testifies to Scarpa's unprecedented ability to conjure the subtlest effects from his material and innovative techniques. The two separate elements of the bowl, the red and the black, are joined together using an exceptionally complex technique called incalmo. The incalmo is obtained by hot-joining two blown semi-spheres of different colour which are then modelled in a bowl, this technique involves highly skilled craftsmanship. Almost seventy years after its conception, this piece is an authentic expression of Scarpa’s brilliance and an aesthetic which was well ahead of its time.
Due to the complex manufacturing techniques and high production costs, very few pieces were produced. Two exceptional Laccati Neri e Rossi models from the August Warnecke Collection were sold at Christie's Paris saleroom, 21 November 2012, lots 11 and 12. A related example can be found in the Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu Collection, New York and the Steinberg Foundation Collection, Vaduz and in an important Swiss collection.