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Venini

Italian

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.

Venini 1940s photo frame wall mirror with brass parts
By Venini
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Wall mirror Venini 1940s photo frame parts in brass, it can be used as a wall mirror or wall photo frame according to your choice.
Category

1940s Italian Other Vintage Venini

Materials

Brass

Murano Chandelier Calla Lily by Venini, Italy, 1960s
By Venini
Located in Miklavž Pri Taboru, SI
The unique Murano chandelier Calla or Lily by Venini was made in Italy in the 1960s. Beautiful chandelier with glass flowers that seem to fall from a chrome stand. This lamp with its...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Venini

Materials

Murano Glass

Bolle Vase in Grass Green, Amber-Yellow and Violet by Tapio Wirkkala
By Venini, Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A vase turns into a bottle for Tapio Wirkkala. Apple green, yellow and purple. Three distinct spaces of colour that blend together thanks to the "Incalmo" technique, a process by whi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Glass

Bolle Vase in Straw-Yellow and Grass Green by Tapio Wirkkala
By Tapio Wirkkala, Venini
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Perfection lies in the middle, striking the perfect balance. A vase turns into a bottle for Tapio Wirkkala. Straw Yellow and Apple Green. Two distinct spaces of colour that blend tog...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Glass

Venini Small Bolle Glass Vase in White and Red by Tapio Wirkkala
By Venini, Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Venini glass vase in white and red designed by Tapio Wirkkala in 1966. Perfect for indoor home decor as container or statement piece for any room. Dimensions: 19 cm diameter x 19 ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Art Glass

Venini Piatto Di Tapio Plate in Gray and Aquamarine by Tapio Wirkkala
By Venini, Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Venini Piatto Di Tapio in gray/aquamarine by Tapio Wirkkala. Numbered Edition for year. “Piatto di Tapio” blown plate with thick handmade center, realized with the “incalmo” techniqu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Glass

Venini Piatto Di Tapio Plate in Red & Aquamarine by Tapio Wirkkala
By Venini, Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Venini Piatto Di Tapio in red/aquamarine by Tapio Wirkkala. Numbered Edition for year. “Piatto di Tapio” blown plate with thick handmade center, realized with the “incalmo” technique...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Glass

Modernist Hand Blown Murano Translucent and Smoked Glass Camer Sconces
By Venini
Located in New York, NY
This outstanding pair of modernist hand blown glass Camer sconces were realized in Murano, Italy- the island off the coast of Venice renowned for centuries for its superlative glass ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Venini

Materials

Chrome

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Venini furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Venini 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 Venini furniture, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 1,079 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 1,454 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Venini were created in the modern style in europe during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Ettore Sottsass, Vistosi, and Artemide. Prices for Venini furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at £137 and can go as high as £306,408, while a piece like these, on average, fetch £2,198.

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