Large Vetro Soffiato Glass Vase by Vittorio Zecchin for Venini Murano 1924

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 who created extraordinary chandeliers, sconces and other lighting in the centuries-old glass workshops on the Venetian island of Murano.

While the company’s co-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 Gio Ponti, Massimo Vignelli, Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala, Thomas Stearns of 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 and antiques dealer Giacomo Cappellin established Vetri Soffiati Cappellin Venini & C. in 1921 — Venini took over the company as his own in 1925, and under his direction, it produced mainly classical Baroque designs.

In 1932, Venini 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 centuries — Venini has produced one of the truly great bodies of work in modern design.

Find antique and vintage Venini chandeliers, serveware, table lamps, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Vittorio Zecchin was a celebrated creative figure who worked across a range of disciplines including furniture design, textiles and more, but his contribution to modern Italian glassmaking is widely influential. Vintage Zecchin glass pieces and decorative objects have perfect symmetry and elegant luster; his artist's eye and masterful skills are evident in each work. 

Zecchin developed an early passion for glassmaking but wasn't interested in the extensive ornamentation of 19th-century Venetian styles. He preferred simpler surfaces that emphasized a vessel’s form and bold, monochromatic palettes.

Zecchin was born on the island of Murano, near Venice. His father was a master glassblower. When he was 18, Zecchin enrolled in the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. He halted his studies in painting early and instead secured work at a glass furnace for a Murano workshop where he learned glassmaking techniques. 

In 1909, Zecchin took part in the effort to transform the Venetian palace Ca’ Pesaro into an art museum. He worked alongside notable painters including Amedeo Modigliani, Teodoro Wolf Ferrari and Umberto Boccioni, and the colors he used and forms he integrated specifically reflected what he had learned in the workshop on Murano. 

In 1913 and 1914, Zecchin partnered with Artisti Barovier to create glass mosaics in the Vienna Secessionist style. Some of these were in the 1914 Venice Biennale where they received critical acclaim. Barovier was eventually renamed Barovier & Toso, a name under which the company still operates today. 

Zecchin later established a tapestry workshop on Murano and experimented with creating decorative glass pieces. Gradually moving his practice away from painting, by 1919 he was composing enameled glass pieces, tapestries and other textiles.

In 1921, the glass manufactory Vetri Soffiati Cappellin Venini & C. — which is today known as Venini & Co. — hired Zecchin as its artistic director. Along with streamlined shapes and uncomplicated colors, he instilled glass with a vivid intensity by immersing finished pieces in tin or titanium vapors while they were still hot. His style and vision earned him universal recognition in his field. 

Zecchin left the firm in 1926 to pursue independent artistic interests, yet he continued to collaborate with the company’s designers. From 1934 until his death in 1947, Zecchin taught at numerous trade schools and institutions, passing on his artistic knowledge on to younger generations. 

On 1stDibs, find vintage Vittorio Zecchin decorative objects, lighting, serveware and more.