Nason Moretti signed vase in blown Murano glass, 1950.

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.

Italian glassmaker Carlo Moretti elevated glassmaking to an avant-garde art form. He is known for his decorative vases, striking centerpieces and elegant table lamps. The bright, rich colors and sophisticated silhouettes of mid-century modernism that characterize his works brought high prestige to the Moretti name. 

Moretti was born in 1934 on Murano, a series of islands in the Venetian lagoon, a place famous for its glassmaking. Six years later, in 1940, his brother Giovanni Moretti was born. The older Moretti brother initially studied to become a lawyer, but he fell in love with the glassmaking tradition of his birthplace. 

In 1958, the two brothers opened the Carlo Moretti glassmaking company together in Murano. Carlo headed the company's creative side, but he was also a savvy entrepreneur. The Carlo Moretti company became known for its innovative techniques, creativity in design and refined style. 

Over the next 50 years, Moretti earned a name for himself as one of the Venetian glass masters. He was the recipient of the 1966 Internationalen Handwerksmesse Gold Medal, the 1966 Internationales Kunsthandwerk Award, the 1976 Macef Award and the 1984 Arango International Design Competition. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Musée Ariana and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. 

When Moretti died in 2008, Giovanni took over the company. Giovanni sold the Carlo Moretti company in 2013 and passed away in 2014. The company continues to introduce new glassware collections in the characteristic style of its founder. It also operates a showroom called L’ISOLA in Venice.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Carlo Moretti decorative objects, serveware, lighting and more.