Rare Barovier & Toso Art Dèco Murano Glass and Brass Chandelier for Sciolari 30s

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 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, sconces and other lighting fixtures, and it pioneered an array of innovative modernist glass designs with bold colors, patterns and surfaces.

The Barovier dynasty began in 1295, when Jacobello Barovier, mentioned in historical documents as a master glassblower, began pinching, cutting, blowing and twisting a molten mixture of sand and minerals into incandescent works of art. It remained entirely family-owned until the mid-20th century, when it merged with another glassworks to become Barovier&Toso.

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 famed London department store Liberty & Co., which promoted 19th-century organic textile designs and Arts and Crafts-style furniture 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 Pezzato 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.

Find antique Barovier&Toso chandeliers, serveware, decorative objects and more on 1stDibs.

Sciolari Lighting was the first Italian lighting company to sell its pieces in the United States. Its luminous work spanned decades of styles and innovative designs, including striking chandeliers, table lamps and wall lights. 

Italian designer Angelo Gaetano Sciolari took over his family’s lighting company after his father’s death in 1949. He had studied architecture and was previously pursuing a career as a film director. In the 1950s, Sciolari became an in-house designer for Italian entrepreneur and designer Bruno Gatta and his lighting manufacturing company Stilnovo. 

By the late 1960s, Sciolari was using his own manufacturing company in combination with Lightolier to reach the American market. His 1970s designs are considered among his best work, including the Cubic Chandelier and other pieces from his Cubic Series, which featured in popular American television shows such as Dallas.

A talented designer, Sciolari preferred using crystal and glass with polished metals, including unconventional combinations like brass and chrome. He crossed many design styles and drew influence from art movements including Cubism, Deconstructivism and Minimalism. His later work, in collaboration with S.A. Boulanger and Stilkronen, involved Hollywood Regency-style fixtures, while his 1970s work reflected Art Deco influences and Space Age aesthetics.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Sciolari Lighting chandeliers and pendants, floor lamps, table lamps and more.