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Barovier & Toso Furniture

Italian

Partnerships come and go within the community of glass-making artisans on the Venetian island of Murano, where business relationships seem as complex as the shifting alliances in the notoriously acrimonious Italian parliament. Formed in 1942 by members of families with centuries of experience in the craft, Barovier&Toso has proven to be one of the most enduring and prosperous Italian glass manufactories of recent decades. Under the nearly 50-year artistic directorship of cofounder Ercole Barovier (1889–1974), the company created buoyant traditional pieces such as chandeliers, sconces and other lighting fixtures, and it pioneered an array of innovative modernist glass designs with bold colors, patterns and surfaces.

The Barovier dynasty began in 1295, when Jacobello Barovier, mentioned in historical documents as a master glassblower, began pinching, cutting, blowing and twisting a molten mixture of sand and minerals into incandescent works of art.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.

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.

Ercole Barovier began his personal aesthetic transition toward modernism in the 1930s with his Primavera series of vases and animal sculptures — idiosyncratic milky-white and clear glass filled with tiny bubbles and hairline interior fissures that he produced for Artisti Barovier, a firm headed by his father and uncle. Later, with Barovier&Toso, he would explore such novel styles as the mosaic-like Pezzato glass; fluid Spiral patterns; the pebbly textured Barbarico line and the complex, layered and highly colored abstractions of the Oriente series of vases and bowls.

Traditional or modern, Barovier&Toso — still under family control — has produced one of the finest and most diverse catalogues of Murano glass in the last 100 years.

Find antique Barovier&Toso chandeliers, serveware, decorative objects and more on 1stDibs.

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Item Ships From: Dallas
Creator: Barovier&Toso
Pair of Pink Barovier Murano Sconces
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
Pair of Mid Century modern Murano glass sconces, by Barovier and Toso, Italy 1960s. The Italian sconces have a neoclassical style. They are made of hand blown Murano glass, with air bubbles and a powder-pink, or brown-pink color. The Murano glass is thick and translucent. The mounts are in brass. The vintage Murano glass sconces have one light each and are professionally rewired with a Medium base socket bulb. The pair of pink sconces...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Barovier & Toso Furniture

Materials

Brass

Murano Table Service for 11+ by Barovier e Toso
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautiful stemware service with centerpiece garniture by Barovier including (11) wine stems, (13) champagne stems, (2) candlesticks and (1) footed bowl in a vintage grape design of g...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Barovier & Toso Furniture

Materials

Blown Glass

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Pair of Barovier & Toso Mid-Century Modern Murano Glass Gold Leaf Sconces
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Monumental Pair of Murano Art Glass Golden Leaf Sconces Lights Barovier, 1970s
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Ercole Barovier Rostrato Murano Italian Glass Vase for Barovier & Toso, 1940s
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Pair of Sconces Murano Glass & Brass Barovier & Toso Style, Italy 1950s
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Mid Century White Murano Glass and Brass sconces by Barovier - a pair
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Barovier & Toso Murano Art Glass Figure
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Presenting a lovely Barovier and Toso Murano art glass figure of a woman carrying a large corn on the cobb. By the world renowned maker of Barovier & Toso and probably made in the 1960’s. Gorgeous frosted glass with 24 carat gold flecks and highlights. The figure is a good size standing at 11.5 inches tall. One minor chip to the underside of one of the corn kernels but not visible (only exhibited by touch) and does not significantly detract from the piece as otherwise it is near mint. Barovier & Toso is an Italian company that specializes in Venetian glass. The company is one of the oldest family businesses in the world, founded in 1295 as Barovier. “The name Barovier derives from the term berroviere (highwayman/policman), which indicates the armigero (person entitled to bear arms) guarding the captain of the people. It is probable that some Barovier, originally from Treviso, settled in Murano around 1291, when a law of the Republic imposed the concentration on the island of all glass furnaces.” Jacobello was the first member of the Barovier family to work glass at this time. It is thought that the company originated in Treviso. The Toso family had been established in Murano since around 1350. In the 1400s Angelo Barovier created glass objects which are currently preserved in various museums. Angelo is recognized as significant for uniting the knowledge which had been developed and handed down by family Barovier. He was not only considered and artist but a scientist. The company became Ferro Toso Vetrerie Artistiche Riunite S.A in 1936 when Vetreria Artistica Barovier merged with Ferro Toso, specializing in crystalline glass, mother-of-pearl glass, and gold-free cornelian red glass.. In 1942, the company was renamed Barovier & Toso. In 1919–1920, 30 year old designer Ercole Barovier began a 50-year career as the artistic director of Barovier & Toso. “After studying medicine and working as a radio operator during World War One he joined the family firm in 1920 when he and his brother Nicolo took over the management from their father Benvenuto. From 1927 Ercole was the main designer and from 1934, when Nicolo left the company, (he was) also the sole owner.” While Barovier did not have formal training as a glassblower, his artistic designs produced objets d’art that have become the most critically acclaimed in the history of Ercole – Barovier. In 1930 he produced his award-winning “Primavera” series. “The Primavera series … is distinguished by a milky white ‘craquelé‘ glass with the addition of black or blue pasta vitrea trim (“opaque colored glass whose consistency is made to appear like ceramic”) and decoration. There was a very limited production of this series due to the fact that it was a result of a glass mixture obtained accidentally so it could never be replicated.” One example of this series, a Primavera Pigeon, was sold at auction for GBP 275,000 (approximately $360,000 USD, not inclusive of the buyer’s premium) on October 16, 2019. Barovier continued to produce innovative designs of which the “Lenti” vase...
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Barovier & Toso Murano Art Glass Figure
Barovier & Toso Murano Art Glass Figure
H 11.5 in W 7.5 in D 4.5 in
Mid Century Murano Glass Large Gold Sconces, Barovier - a pair
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Very Large Clear Murano Glass Mid-Century Modern Chandelier by Barovier & Toso
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Extra large & unique Mid-Century Modern clear Murano glass chandelier or flush mount, by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1970. Composed of a chrome frame with chain and canopy: H 12 in. / 30 cm; A large bottom textured bowl, and 28 curved and pleated clear glasses, giving a "Planet" shape to these chandelier. 5 lights, rewired for the US. Heavy chandelier: circa 100 lbs. Mid Mod design...
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Pair of Large Leaf Murano Glass Mid-Century Modern Sconces by Barovier, 1970s
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Pair of large Mid-Century Modern sconces, by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1970s. Made in a thick handmade Murano glass with gold flakes, givi...
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Pair of Mid-Century Modern Murano Glass Gold Flower Sconces by Barovier
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Two pairs of Barovier e Toso Mid-Century Modern wall sconces, or flush mount lights, made of gold and clear Murano glass flowers on a brass mount. Two lights each, rewired for the US...
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Large Blue/Gray Mid-Century Modern 8 Lights Murano Glass Chandelier by Barovier
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Large eight arms, Mid-Century Modern Murano glass chandelier, by Barovier & Toso, 1980s The glass color is blue/gray, with white fabric new shades. The design is Classic with a mod...
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Pair of Large Blue Murano Glass Mid-Century Modern Vases 1970s, Barovier e Toso
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Large pair of transparent sky blue handmade Murano glass vases Made with the Balloton technique: features air bubbles inside the glass thickness Made by Barovier & Toso in the Murano tradition Mid-Century Modern Murano vases...
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Monumental Pair of Clear Barovier & Toso Murano Lamps with Gold Flecking
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautiful pair of large Barovier & Toso Murano lamps. Glass is clear with gold flecking. Lamps have been restored with lucite bases and finials added. Newly rewired.
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20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Barovier & Toso Furniture

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Barovier e Toso Leaf Chandelier
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
Exceptional Barovier and Toso leaf chandelier with a drop of 57 inches;. Created in Italy in 1960 with numerous individual blown and shaped leaf forms suspended from a brass frame.
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Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Barovier & Toso Furniture

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Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Chandelier
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautiful Barovier & Toso murano glass chandelier. 40 clear glass with gold fleck petals on brass finish cage. Beautiful chain.
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Barovier & Toso Murano Chandelier
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Dallas, TX
A beautiful Barovier & Toso Murano chandelier, 20 glass petals.
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20th Century Italian Barovier & Toso Furniture

Barovier&toso furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Barovier&Toso furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of glass and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Barovier&Toso furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 759 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 7 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Barovier&Toso were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Stilnovo, Gaetano Sciolari, and Vico Magistretti. Prices for Barovier&Toso furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $90 and can go as high as $90,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,768.

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