Venini Mid-Century Italian Art Glass Bottle a Fasce Orizzontali by Bianconi
About the Item
- Creator:Venini (Manufacturer),Fulvio Bianconi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Diameter: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. See description for condition details.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:
Fulvio Bianconi
For a range of work that includes everything from illustrating thousands of books and other publications to his role as a visionary glassmaker, Fulvio Bianconi is remembered as one of the most innovative cross-disciplinarian artists of the postwar era.
Born in Ponte di Brenta in 1915, Bianconi showed a prodigious talent for drawing at an early age and, as a teenager, earned money as a portraitist. He also worked as an apprentice decorator in his youth at the Murano glass furnaces, where he first discovered the art of glassmaking.
In 1933, he moved to Milan to pursue a career as a graphic artist, and it was there he met Dino Villani, a painter who had ties to some of Milan’s most prestigious publishing houses and advertising firms. However, at the onset of World War II, Bianconi paused his graphic design ambitions and joined the army. In 1944, he narrowly escaped the infamous Via Rasella Nazi raids in German-occupied Rome.
Following the war, Bianconi went to work designing perfume bottles for the Milan perfume house Giviemme at Venini glassworks, where he worked with glass masters Ermete and Arturo Biassuto. Bianconi became one of Venini’s most influential glass designers — and was appointed artistic director following Carlo Scarpa — known for his bold use of color, modern style and unique, playful designs. Among his most iconic works are the series of glass figures from the Commedia dell’Arte, the remarkably fluid “handkerchief” vases and bowls, and the patchwork “Pezzato” technique, which caused a sensation at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950.
Bianconi worked with several other glass studios, including Cenedese in 1954 and Vistosi in 1963, creating decorative vases, bowls, hourglasses and sculptures. He was also a graphic designer with the Italian publishing house Garzanti for nearly 30 years. Bianconi’s portfolio of graphic design included work for FIAT, Pathé and Pirelli, among others.
Bianconi’s glassworks are held in museum collections worldwide, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The artist died in 1996.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Fulvio Bianconi decorative objects, glassware and lighting.
Venini
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Philadelphia, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Handshake, a Post-War Lattimo Art Glass Sculpture by Fulvio Bianconi for VeniniBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Philadelphia, PAAn exceptionally rare figurine by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini & Co. Referred to as 'Handshake', the model consists of a gloved hand with a scalloped cuff shaking hands with a naked...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Mid-Century Murano / Venetian Fasce Ritorte Glass Hurricane Lamp ShadeBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in Philadelphia, PAA very fine Italian art glass hurricane shade for a candlestick. With 'fasce ritorte' twisted ribbon decoration in green and red on a clear ground. In the style of Fulvio Bian...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsMurano Glass, Art Glass
- Model 3321 Red and Black Glass Vase by Tomaso Buzzi for Venini, 1950sBy Venini, Tomaso BuzziLocated in Philadelphia, PAA rare Rosa e Negro model number 3321 glass vase by Tomaso Buzzi for Venini. 1950s or 1960s. Unsigned. (Likely originally bore a factory sticker.) Base has a rough pontil mark an...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Large Mid-Century Modern Archimede Seguso White Scavo Italian Art Glass VaseBy Archimede Seguso, Seguso Vetri d'ArteLocated in Philadelphia, PAA large, Italian white art-glass vase in the 'scavo' technique. Attributed to Archimede Seguso and Seguso Vetri d’Arte. The white textured finish of the vase offers a perfect ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Mid-Century Modern Venetian / Murano Blue & White Swirl Italian Art Glass VaseBy SalviatiLocated in Philadelphia, PAA fine Italian art glass vase. Attributed to Salviati. With a vasiform body and everted trumpet form base. Simply a wonderful vase! Date: Mid-20th Century Overall Con...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Mid-Century Modern Murano Italian Glass Red & Purple Striped VaseBy Seguso Vetri d'Arte, Flavio PoliLocated in Philadelphia, PAA good Murano glass vase with red and purple stripes. In the style of Flavio Poli with a thick body, bullicine and 'a face' decoration. Measure: Height ca. 12 1/2 in. Items ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Fasce Orizzontali Bottle Model #4399 by Fulvio Bianconi fo VeniniBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in New York, NYHand blown, incalmo glass bottle in green and blue. Venini label attached to bottom.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi for Venini Fasce Orizzontali Bottle Model 4315 Green Red GlassBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in New York, NYFulvio Bianconi for Venini Fasce Orizzontali large bottle model 4315 in transparent blue green glass decorated on the body by two horizontal bands in opaque red and on the neck by a ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bottles
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi Fasce Orizzontali VaseBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA Fulvio Bianconi banded vase in clear glass with embedded bands of aquamarine,sapphire,black and red glass. marked with a three line acid stamp c.1953Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Fasce “Orizzontali” Stoppered Bottle by Fulvio Bianconi, 1960sBy Fulvio BianconiLocated in Skokie, ILFulvio Bianconi A Fasce “Orizzontali” stoppered bottle for Venini, Italy, 1960s Additional Information: Materials: Polychrome banded glass Dimensions: 18 3/4” H x 3 1/2” Dia. C...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bottles
MaterialsGlass
- Fasce Orizzontali Vase 'Model Number 4315', Fulvio Bianconi, Venini MuranoBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Brussels, BELarge green blown glass bottle vase decorated with two hot applied red bands. The collar consists of a layer of translucent red glass which is itself different from the glass used ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- A fasce Orizzontali Vase 'Model Number 4315', Fulvio Bianconi, Venini MuranoBy Fulvio BianconiLocated in Brussels, BELarge green blown glass bottle vase decorated with three hot applied red bands (on a white background). Very imposing by its size of 61. cm, we have not found the similar model ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass