CARLO SCARPA (1906-1978)

A MONUMENTAL VASE WITH APPLIED SHELL, CIRCA 1930

Details

CARLO SCARPA (1906-1978)
A MONUMENTAL VASE WITH APPLIED SHELL, CIRCA 1930
produced by M.V.M. Cappellin & C., hand-blown and applied glass
13 in. (33 cm.) high, 18 ¾ in. (47.7 cm.) diameter
acid stamp MVM Cappellin Murano

Literature

M.V.M. Cappellin Company Catalogue, Series VI, n. 13 for a model drawing of the present form;
F. Deboni, Murano ‘900, Milan, 1996, p. 186, n. 102 for another large vase with a shell motif;
M. Barovier, Carlo Scarpa, Milan, 1998, pp. 85, 199, no. 111 for a similar example;
M. Barovier, Carlo Scarpa: Glass of an Architect, Milan, 1998, p. 85 for a related bowl, p. 199 for a similar example, p. 265, n. 55 for another vase of this model exhibited at the XXII Exhibition of the Opera Bevilaqua La Masa, Venice, 1931;
Exhibition catalogue, Venetian Glass: the Nancy Olnik and Giorgio Spanu Collection, New York, 2000, p. 61, n. 32 for a related vase.

Lot Essay

The present lot is an important and early example of Scarpa’s efforts to modernize the production of glass experimenting with new techniques. The air inclusions, which form the decoration of this large vase, are obtained by a chemical process and can be considered one of the starting point for techniques used subsequently by Scarpa such as the Bollicine and Sommerso. The use of this innovative technique to create the bubbles was here a deliberate adjunct to the thematic impetus of the vase, with the applied shell motif thereby also accompanied by the suggestion of swirling of sea water and foam created by the captured inclusions.

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