Carlo Nason Bottles
A mid-century modern reference for today’s Murano glassmakers, Carlo Nason influenced the current tradition of glassmaking on an island renowned for it for hundreds of years. Celebrated for their exceptional designs, Nason’s lighting fixtures are sought after by collectors worldwide.
Learning to design and craft pieces from the family vetreria — rather than partaking in any formal training — Nason was working with the maestros at his family’s company furnace, V. Nason & C., attached to their family home by the time he was 11 years old. Although his roots are in Murano glassmaking, he took inspiration from the clean lines and natural colors of the Japanese metal vases he had seen in his youth at Milanese fairs.
Wanting to produce modern glass lamps, Nason worked with his family friend Gianni Mazzega of Mazzega Murano. For his Cascata chandelier (Italian for “waterfall”), which debuted in the 1960s, Nason achieved the effect of cascading water through an inverted pyramid of hanging glass plates, each individually mouth-blown and suspended from a chrome-plated frame for a dazzling, Art Deco–styled display.
The 1970s and 1980s were productive and creative years for Nason as the sole and independent designer at Mazzega Murano. His prolific career has also seen him design for other lighting manufacturers like I TRE, Murano Due and Kalmar.
After a mere four years as a glassmaker, Carlo Nason had his creations displayed at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The credit for the artisan’s pieces that were included in “Glass 1959” went to his family’s company, but the designs were all authored by Carlo.
Stepping away from the traditional, vibrant Murano stylings, Nason kept true to his inspiration, working with modern and simple forms that are relatively free of color. Nason told Palainco in a rare 2019 interview that his emotions inspired the shapes. And his legacy includes fixtures that are irreplicable and unreproducible, too — Nason made lighting pieces with multiple layers of glass that would be too costly or difficult to recreate today, and some designs were made with processes and materials now unavailable or banned in the glassmaking world.
Find an array of vintage Carlo Nason table lamps, floor lamps, decorative objects and more on 1stDibs.
1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Carlo Nason Bottles
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Crystal
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Carlo Nason Bottles
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Carlo Nason Bottles
Murano Glass, Opaline Glass
20th Century Spanish Art Deco Carlo Nason Bottles
Crystal, Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Blown Glass
1960s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Carlo Nason Bottles
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Carlo Nason Bottles
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Murrine, Glass
