A rare 'A Macchie' dish, model no. 4478, circa 1942

Details

CARLO SCARPA (1906-1978)
A rare 'A Macchie' dish, model no. 4478, circa 1942
executed by Venini, Murano, Italy, hand-blown iridescent glass
2 1/8 high x 11 long x 9 in. deep (5.5 x 28 x 23 cm.)
acid stamp venini murano ITALIA

Provenance

Galleria Marina Barovier, Venice, Italy;
Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 2004.

Literature

M. Barovier, Carlo Scarpa: Venini 1932-1947, exh. cat., Le Stanze del Vetro, Milan, 2012, pp. 445, 448 another example illustrated.

Exhibited

La Stanze del Vetro, Venice, Carlo Scarpa. Venini 1932-1947, August 2012 - January 2013;
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa: The Venini Company 1932-1947, November 2013- March 2014.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Lot Essay

Carlo Scarpa designed a series of extremely modern bowls and dishes just before Venini closed due to the war. Very pure forms were decorated with minimalist colours and motifs: simple stripes or with large dots in black and few other colours, very often with lightly iridescent surface. Only a few of these bowls were produced after the war and soon they disappeared from the Venini catalogues. The present lot is a particularly exceptional example due to the intensity of the iridised surface. A similar dish was exhibited at the XXIII Venice Biennale in 1942.

Other dishes from this series can be found in the Nancy Olnik and George Spanu Collection, New York and in the Steinberg Foundation Collection, Vaduz.

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