Ercole Barovier Art Deco Italian Murano Glass "Reticello" Pendant, 1940s
View Similar Items
Ercole Barovier Art Deco Italian Murano Glass "Reticello" Pendant, 1940s
About the Item
- Creator:Barovier&Toso (Manufacturer),Ercole Barovier (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40 cm)Depth: 6.3 in (16 cm)
- Style:Art Deco (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Puglia, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4426120022712
Ercole Barovier
Ercole Barovier left an indelible mark on the world of Italian modernist glassmaking — his vibrant use of color and exploration of innovative techniques yielded glass vases, chandeliers and other lighting and decorative objects that stand out in any interior many decades later.
Barovier grew up on the Venetian island of Murano, a region of the world famed for its production of artisanal glassworks. By the time he was born, in 1889, his family had already been in the glassmaking business for centuries, as the Barovier dynasty began in 1295. Nonetheless, Barovier 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, Barovier joined his family’s business (the manufactory was called Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C.). He was appointed artistic director in 1926, and subsequently managed the business with his brother Nicolò. From 1927 onward, Barovier was the chief designer at his family’s glassworks. 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 company still operates today.
Early in his career, Barovier garnered praise for his work with murrine glass, one of the traditional arts for which Murano is widely known. In the 1930s, he began pushing the boundaries of tradition and experimenting with new ways to bring color into his glass objects. He is credited with having invented colorazione a caldo senza fusione, a method of introducing metals and oxides into glassworks. Barovier’s style became defined by his use of riotous color and later, audacious forms. He created sculptures, table lamps and other pieces using mosaic techniques to add a kaleidoscope of striking hues to his work. Barovier had a particular gift to bring out glass’s unique properties to refract and filter light in every shade of the rainbow.
Barovier took endless inspiration from the world around him, from the play of light reflecting off the canals near his home to artworks from classical antiquity. Prior to World War II, his works included naturalistic designs including floral sconces, vine-wrapped chandeliers and sea life-inspired bowls (the manufactory was known for sinuous lighting pieces that are often described as embodying “Liberty Style” — the Italian term for Art Nouveau). He focused on reinterpreting classical techniques and styles in the postwar years. Geometrically patterned vases that recalled Ancient Greek pottery in their bold forms — as well as precisely detailed Art Deco glass serving bowls — are among his characteristic works from this period. Gold leaf was applied as a decorative flourish, and Barovier worked to ensure that his pieces reflected contemporary trends. His mid-century glass is particularly sought after by today’s collectors.
Up until his retirement in 1972, Barovier continued his exploration of the creative potential in glassmaking. His fearlessness in combining cutting-edge techniques with deeply traditional practices led him to create over 25,000 designs over the course of his life.
Barovier’s work garnered international acclaim. He received many awards and accolades, including awards at the Milan Triennial exhibitions in 1933 and 1954, the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1937, and the Compasso d'Oro in 1956.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Ercole Barovier lighting, decorative objects and serveware.
Barovier&Toso
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 & Co. 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 and sconces, and it pioneered an array of innovative modernist designs with bold colors, patterns and surfaces.
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 the famed London department store that promoted 19th-century organic textile designs 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 Pezatto 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.
- Ercole Barovier Art Deco Murano Glass and Brass Italian Chandelier, 1940sBy Barovier&Toso, Ercole BarovierLocated in Puglia, PugliaThis five-light chandelier was designed and produced by Ercole Barovier in the 1940s, it is made of Murano glass and brass. Completely cleaned, polished and with a new electrical sys...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
$2,782 Sale Price20% Off - Ercole Barovier Art Dèco Italian Murano Glass and Brass Chandelier, 1935sBy Ercole Barovier, Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C.Located in Puglia, PugliaGlass chandelier with six arms in the shape of a tulip and leaf decorations in transparent glass and brass. Designed by Ercole Barovier and produced by Vetreria Artistica Barovier & ...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Barovier & Toso Murano Glass Italian "Fireworks" Chandelier, 1990sBy Barovier&TosoLocated in Puglia, PugliaFireworks is a Murano blown glass chandelier by Barovier e Toso. Armrests adjustable in all positions up or down, Italy, 1990s. The Barovier artistic glassworks has existed since ...Category
1990s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMurano Glass
$3,478 Sale Price20% Off - Barovier & Toso Art Dèco Style Brass Murano Glass Lantern ChandelierBy Barovier&TosoLocated in Puglia, PugliaThis fabulous Art Deco lantern-shaped chandelier is composed of printed and textured glass sheets fixed with brass spheres on a metal and brass structure, made entirely by hand by th...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Mid-Century Modern Italian Murano Glass Pendant Lamp Murano, 1970sLocated in Puglia, PugliaSuspension lamp in bronzed Murano glass, with brass details.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
$1,217 Sale Price20% Off - Art Deco Italian Chrome and "Incamiciato" Glass Chandelier, 1930sLocated in Puglia, PugliaArt Deco chandelier made in Italy in the 1930s. The structure is in chromed metal and wood, the bowls in Murano glass "Incamiciato" with two layers of glass, white inside and green o...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
$3,304 Sale Price20% Off
- Art Deco Reticello Chandelier by Ercole Barovier, Murano, 1940sBy Ercole BarovierLocated in Budapest, HUAmazing and elegant hand blown Murano chandelier by Ercole Barovier, circa 1940. From Private collection.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Charming Murano Glass Chandelier by Ercole Barovier, 1940sBy Ercole BarovierLocated in Rome, ITWonderful Liberty chandelier made around the year 1940 to the Murano glass factory by Ercole Barovier. Three large cups supported by three leaves.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
- Ercole Barovier Toso Murano Opal White Chalcedony Italian Art Glass Pendant LampBy Ercole Barovier, Barovier&TosoLocated in Kissimmee, FLRare, extra large, vintage Murano hand blown opalescent white Italian art glass hanging pendant lamp shade with crown decoration. Documented to desi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsSilver Leaf
$1,900 Sale Price33% Off - Ercole Barovier, Art Decò Vintage Pendant Murano Glass, 1940sBy Ercole BarovierLocated in Roma, ITPretty Murano chandelier attributed to Ercole Barovier special for decorating any kind of space. The chandelier consists of 3 leaves and a glass element with an e27 light at the b...Category
Vintage 1940s European Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsArt Glass
$1,217 Sale Price20% Off - Magnificent Art Deco Mounted Murano Glass Chandelier by Ercole Barovier, 1940By Ercole BarovierLocated in Rome, ITExceptional eight-shade Murano glass chandelier with gold intrusion . Elegant shaped fine quality brass mount, by Ercole Barovier. Unique Art Deco beauty in excellent vintage condi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Magnificent Art Deco Mounted Murano Glass Chandelier by Ercole Barovier, 1940By Ercole BarovierLocated in Rome, ITExceptional eight-shade Murano glass chandelier with gold intrusion . Elegant shaped fine quality brass mount, by Ercole Barovier. Unique Art Deco beauty in excellent vintage condi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBlown Glass
$11,304 Sale Price20% Off