Artisti Barovier
The still-thriving glassworks known today as Barovier&Toso, revered for its catalogue of exquisite mouth-blown chandeliers, sconces and table lamps, originated on the Venetian island of Murano, a region of the world famed for its production of artisanal glassworks. Between 1920 and 1936, the firm traded under the name Artisti Barovier.
The Barovier dynasty began in 1295, when Jacobello Barovier, mentioned in historical documents as a master glassblower, began pinching, cutting, blowing and twisting a molten mixture of sand and minerals into incandescent works of art. It remained entirely family-owned until the mid-20th century, when it merged with another glassworks to become Barovier&Toso.
Under the nearly 50-year artistic directorship of Barovier&Toso cofounder Ercole Barovier (1889–1974), the company created buoyant traditional pieces such as pendants and wall lights, and it pioneered an array of innovative modernist designs with bold colors, patterns and surfaces.
By the time Ercole Barovier was born, in 1889, his family had already been in the glassmaking business for centuries. Nonetheless, Ercole did not choose glassmaking as his first career — he instead studied medicine as a young man before going on to work as a radio operator in the first World War.
The year after the war ended, Ercole joined his family’s business (over time, the manufactory’s names included Fratelli Barovier, Artisti Barovier and Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C.). Ercole was appointed artistic director in 1926, and subsequently managed the business with his brother Nicolò.
From 1927 onward, Ercole Barovier was the chief designer at his family’s glassworks. His style became defined by his use of riotous color and later, audacious forms. Ercole created sculptures, table lamps and other pieces using mosaic techniques to add a kaleidoscope of striking hues to his work. Early in his career, he garnered praise for his work with murrine glass, one of the traditional arts for which Murano is widely known. He became sole proprietor in 1934 and, in 1936, merged his own family business with the Venetian glass factory SAIAR Ferro Toso. They renamed the company Barovier&Toso, a name under which the firm still operates today.
To appeal to gentler, more conservative tastes, Barovier&Toso produced a range of lilting, sinuous lighting pieces that are often described as embodying “Liberty Style” — the Italian term for Art Nouveau, taken from the name of famed London department store Liberty & Co., which promoted 19th-century organic textile designs and Arts and Crafts-style furniture in the manner of William Morris. The hallmarks of the style in Barovier&Toso works are elements of glass in the shape of thick leaves, fronds and flower petals, deployed along with other naturalistic ornament in sconces, pendants and chandeliers.
Traditional or modern, Barovier&Toso has produced one of the finest and most diverse catalogues of Murano glass in the last 100 years.
Find antique Artisti Barovier lighting and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
1910s Italian Arts and Crafts Vintage Artisti Barovier
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Art Glass
1930s Italian Vintage Artisti Barovier
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Artisti Barovier
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
20th Century Artisti Barovier
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisti Barovier
Brass
1960s Italian Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
1940s Italian Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
20th Century American Artisti Barovier
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
1910s French French Provincial Vintage Artisti Barovier
Faience
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Ceramic
1950s Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
1940s Vintage Artisti Barovier
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Artisti Barovier
Gold Leaf
Early 1900s Italian Antique Artisti Barovier
Art Glass
1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Artisti Barovier
Art Glass
1940s Italian Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Glass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Artisti Barovier
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Artisti Barovier
Metal
1930s Italian Vintage Artisti Barovier
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Artisti Barovier
Metal