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Antique RareVenetian ArchimedeSegusoStyle HandblownGlass Links Pendants Necklace

Name: Antique RareVenetian ArchimedeSegusoStyle HandblownGlass Links Pendants Necklace
Brand: Archimede Seguso
Price: 3185 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Like elegant multi-pendant festoon necklaces from the mid-1800s, this antique 19th-Century Italian glass choker collar by the Seguso family that founded Vetri d'Arte on the Venetian island of Murano features three one-inch-drop pendants, which here include reddish pink mouth-blown glass balls with golden reflections that are supported by brass findings and unusual ecru glass links that form a chain. The handcrafted closed links appear to be miniature versions of the style made famous in the next century by the family's descendant Archimede Seguso (1909-1999), whom Gabriel "Coco" Chanel worked with to create couture glass necklaces as a rare foreign commission with an artisan not living in France. Unlike such historically-inspired mid-20th-Century glass-chain necklaces, this shorter necklace with pendants closes with a tiny brass flat wrap-around hook that fastens to a brass ring. What is remarkable about this rare necklace--beyond its attractive elements that all capture light--is that jewelry so delicate survived in excellent condition for over a century. The necklace could be older given that Seguso-family glassmasters emerged in the late 14th Century, not to overlook that the simply round multi-toned slightly-iridescent glass balls look like they could have been excavated by an archeologist from an ancient Roman site. Helping to date this antique to the 19th Century, the faux-filigree thin clasp is decoratively stamped with a double rose flower motif between two diamond-shaped perforations that are surrounded by a radiating pattern. Further, the glass colors of the necklace suggest that its was made during the mid-1800s when coral, agate and faux-gem paste became fashionable in Europe and the U.K. as beautiful materials for jewelry irrelevant of their worth. This was decades before glassmasters American Louis Comfort Tiffany and French Rene Lalique, Maison Gripoix and Louis Rousselet established the worldwide demand for artisan-glass jewelry. So we believe that it is a historically important necklace. Notably, when different kinds of plastics were invented later such as celluloid, this glass chain-link style that can also be found in Venetian chandeliers by the Seguso glassmakers was imitated for costume jewelry, such as in the 1930s for commissions by Parisian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli and for ready-to-wear by American Miriam Haskell with her first designer Frank Hess. Please view our other listings for pieces by those 20th-Century designers.

Creator:

Archimede Seguso

Metal:

Brass

Weight:

0.4 ounce (lb)

Dimensions:

Depth: 1 in (25.4 mm)Diameter: 5 in (127 mm)Length: 15 in (381 mm)

Style:

Artisan

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1837-1900

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Chicago, IL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU3244221157052

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Shop All Archimede Seguso

Archimede Seguso

Archimede Seguso redefined a 650-year family history of Murano glass-making with brilliance and novel techniques, elevating him to an exemplar for the maestros of his time as well as for future generations of glassmakers. This next generation included his sons and grandsons, who carried on and further expanded the family legacy of Venetian art glass. The survival and revival of traditional glassblowing combined with unique design are the legacies left behind by a master.

Seguso grew up in the family furnaces of the Soffieria Barovier Seguso and Ferro, where his training began at age 11. By the time he turned 20, he was a maestro in his own right, joining the family business as a partner.

In 1933 the company changed its name to Seguso Vetri D’Arte, and Seguso gained sole control. He collaborated with designers Flavio Poli and Vittorio Zecchin, which allowed him to achieve artistic sovereignty leading to the opening in 1946 of his own furnace, Vetreria Seguso Archimede. There, he could explore his design ideas with creative freedom. In 2007, the 23rd generation of Seguso glassmakers took the lead at Seguso Vetri D’Arte. Brothers Gianluca, Pierpaolo and Gianandrea Seguso carry a six-century dynasty of Seguso glass into the 21st century.

Archimede Seguso’s art glass pays homage to tradition. Seguso studied and mastered techniques from centuries past, but he also pioneered innovative approaches, such as submersion and unconventional color constitutions. He awarded future generations with stunning and unprecedented effects, such as ribbed textures, rings, needle shapes and the appearance of embedded objects.

A lifetime of achievement created by Seguso is honored in museums worldwide, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, MoMA in New York and Museum Kunstpalast in Dusseldorf, to name a few. His exhibit resume spans decades, beginning with XX Biennale, Venezia, in 1936. It includes a 1989 exhibit of “Il Maestro dei Maestri” at Tiffany & Co., New York, and 2013 exhibitions at Musée Maillol in Paris and Museo della Basilica di San Marco in Venice.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Archimede Seguso glass, decorative objects, lighting and mirrors alongside a collection from his brother Angelo Seguso and his grandsons’ firm Seguso Viro.