Fulvio Bianconi Bowl Pezzato Americano, Venini, Murano 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Fulvio Bianconi (Artist),Venini (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 3.55 in (9 cm)Diameter: 7.68 in (19.5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Very good condition. Please contact us if you have questions.
- Seller Location:Berghuelen, DE
- Reference Number:
Venini
Beginning in the 1930s — and throughout the postwar years especially — Venini & Co. played a leading role in the revival of Italy’s high-end glass industry, pairing innovative modernist designers with the skilled artisans in the centuries-old glass workshops on the Venetian island of Murano. While the company’s founder, Paolo Venini (1895–1959), was himself a highly talented glassware designer, his true genius was to invite forward-thinking Italian and international designers to Murano’s hallowed workshops to create Venini pieces — among them Giò Ponti, Massimo Vignelli, Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala, Thomas Stearnsof the United States and Fulvio Bianconi.
Paolo Venini trained and practiced as a lawyer for a time, though his family had been involved with glassmaking for generations. After initially buying a share in a Venetian glass firm, he took over the company as his own in 1925, and under his direction it produced mainly classical Baroque designs. In 1932, he hired the young Carlo Scarpa— who would later distinguish himself as an architect — as his lead designer. Scarpa, working in concert with practiced glass artisans, completely modernized Venini, introducing simple, pared-down forms; bright primary colors; and bold patterns such as stripes, banding and abstract compositions that utilized cross sections of murrine (glass rods).
Paolo Venini’s best designs are thought to be his two-color Clessidre hourglasses, produced from 1957 onward, and the Fazzoletto (“handkerchief”) vase, designed with Bianconi in 1949. Bianconi’s masterworks are considered by many to be his Pezzato works — colorful vases with patterns that resemble those of a patchwork quilt. Other noteworthy and highly collectible vintage Venini works include Ponti’s dual-tone stoppered bottles (circa 1948); rare glass sculptures from the Doge series by Stearns, the first American to design for the firm; Vignelli’s striped lanterns of the 1960s; the Occhi vases with eyelet-shaped patterns by Tobia Scarpa (son of Carlo); and, with their almost zen purity, the Bolle (“bubbles”) bottles designed by Wirkkala in 1968.
With these works — and many others by some of the creative titans of the 20th and 21st century — Venini has produced one of the truly great bodies of work in modern design.
Fulvio Bianconi
For a range of work that includes everything from illustrating thousands of books and other publications to his role as a visionary glassmaker, Fulvio Bianconi is remembered as one of the most innovative cross-disciplinarian artists of the postwar era.
Born in Ponte di Brenta in 1915, Bianconi showed a prodigious talent for drawing at an early age and, as a teenager, earned money as a portraitist. He also worked as an apprentice decorator in his youth at the Murano glass furnaces, where he first discovered the art of glassmaking.
In 1933, he moved to Milan to pursue a career as a graphic artist, and it was there he met Dino Villani, a painter who had ties to some of Milan’s most prestigious publishing houses and advertising firms. However, at the onset of World War II, Bianconi paused his graphic design ambitions and joined the army. In 1944, he narrowly escaped the infamous Via Rasella Nazi raids in German-occupied Rome.
Following the war, Bianconi went to work designing perfume bottles for the Milan perfume house Giviemme at Venini glassworks, where he worked with glass masters Ermete and Arturo Biassuto. Bianconi became one of Venini’s most influential glass designers — and was appointed artistic director following Carlo Scarpa — known for his bold use of color, modern style and unique, playful designs. Among his most iconic works are the series of glass figures from the Commedia dell’Arte, the remarkably fluid “handkerchief” vases and bowls, and the patchwork “Pezzato” technique, which caused a sensation at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950.
Bianconi worked with several other glass studios, including Cenedese in 1954 and Vistosi in 1963, creating decorative vases, bowls, hourglasses and sculptures. He was also a graphic designer with the Italian publishing house Garzanti for nearly 30 years. Bianconi’s portfolio of graphic design included work for FIAT, Pathé and Pirelli, among others.
Bianconi’s glassworks are held in museum collections worldwide, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The artist died in 1996.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Fulvio Bianconi decorative objects, glassware and lighting.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Berghuelen, Germany
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 30 days of delivery.
- Venini Vase 'Fazzoletto Opalino', by Fulvio Bianconi, 1950sBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Berghuelen, DEVenini Vase 'Fazzoletto Opalino', by Fulvio Bianconi 1950s A Fazzoletto vase in opaline and rose glass with clear glass overlay. It was manufactured in the 1950s by Venini, Venice a...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass, Murano Glass
- Fazzoletto Zanfirico Vase by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini, Venice Murano, 1950sBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in Berghuelen, DEFazzoletto Zanfirico Vase by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini, Venice Murano 1950s A rare Fazzoletto (handkerchief) vase in transparent glass with whit...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass, Murano Glass
- Vase Forato by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini, Murano, 1950sBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Berghuelen, DETan France Auction Pick A Forato vase in green, and amber colored glass designed by Fulvio Bianconi in 1951, manufactured by Venini, Venice, Italy ca. 195...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Venini Vase 'Fazzoletto' in red, Venice Murano 1950sBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Berghuelen, DEVenini Vase 'Fazzoletto' in red, Venice Murano 1950s A vintage fazzoletto (handkerchief) vase in transparent red glass. Manufactured ca. 1950s by Venini...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass, Murano Glass
- Vintage Murano Pezzato Art Glass Ashtray by Barovier & Toso 1950sBy Barovier&Toso, Ercole BarovierLocated in Berghuelen, DEVintage Murano Pezzato Art Glass Ashtray by Barovier & Toso 1950s A heavy Murano art glass ashtray designed by Ercole Barovier and manufactured by Barovier & Toso, Italy circa 1950s. Heavy hot moulded glass internally decorated with opaline and light green glass plates...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass, Murano Glass
- Mezza Filigrana Glass Bowl, Venini Murano 1979By Venini, Carlo ScarpaLocated in Berghuelen, DEA Mezza Filigrana (halve filigree) Murano art glass bowl, manufactured by Venini in 1979. Most probably a design of Carlo Scarpa who designed mezza fil...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass, Murano Glass
- Vintage Fulvio Bianconi Pezzato Vase for VeniniBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in Brooklyn, NYModel 1329 in the 'Paris' colorway of red, blue, green, and hay yellow glass. One of Bianconi's major contributions to the art of glassmaking, the Pezzato series premiered at the 195...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsArt Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi Pezzato VaseBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in West Palm Beach, FLFulvio Bianconi Pezzato Vase model #4338 as shown in the catolgo rosso,folio 111. A beautiful example of the Parigi Variant,show casing red,blue straw ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Fulvio Bianconi Venini Model 4319 Patchwork Pezzato Vase Murano, Italy, 1950’sBy Fulvio BianconiLocated in Ann Arbor, MILarge Venini Pezzato vase model 4319 designed by Fulvio Bianconi circa 1950’s. Vase retains its original acid signature Venini Murano Italia. ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Pezzato vase by Fulvio BianconiBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Milano, MIezed vase Fulvio Bianconi Venini & C. 1951 H 22 cm diam. 15.5 cm 1951, IX Milan Triennale Letteratura: Murano Milan Venice GlasDie Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum 2010, p. 136 ...Category
Vintage 1950s Glass
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
- Pulegoso Glass Bowl by Fulvio Bianconi for CenedeseBy Cenedese, Fulvio BianconiLocated in New York, NYClear & colored blown glass. Great scale with internal bubbles and vibrant color stripes. Signed on underside by maker.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi, "Pezzato" Glass Vase, 1951By Fulvio BianconiLocated in Paris, FRFulvio Bianconi "Pezzato" Glass Vase, 1951 Venini Murano green blue red vase Marked: Venini H : 28 cm (11") Overall Very good condition The "Pezzato" (Patchwork) series took Bianco...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass