VENINI 1950 By Fulvio Bianconi Murano Blue-Green Bottle Red Fasce Orizontali Art Glass

A fasce-orizontali bottle designed by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini.

This is a very rare art-glass tall bottle designed by the artist Fulvio Bianconi for the Venini company, back in 1950. It was masterfully hand crafted at the Venini atelier located in the Murano island. This is the Venini model 4315 and named at the catalog as Fasce Orizontali. A tall vase composed by blue-green soffiato transparent glass and decorated with sequence applications of three red "anellos" in the a fasce-orizontali technique. Although simple in design, this iconic midcentury Venini bottle has bold striking glass colors and is a chic decorative accessory in any interior.

A Fasce

This is a Murano technique involves applying molten, colored glass bands or ribbons onto a transparent, blown glass body to create striking, layered, and often asymmetrical, chromatic patterns. Popularized by Carlo Scarpa and Fulvio Bianconi for Venini in the 1940s and 1950's, this method often covers the colored threads with a final, thin layer of crystal for a refined finish.

Fulvio Bianconi

He settled in Milan and collaborated throughout his life with the Milanese publishing houses Mondadori, Bompiani and Garzanti as a graphic designer and illustrator. He also dedicated himself to painting frescos in the Galtrucco stores and in the Pavilions of the Milan Trade Fair. These occupations were combined with his constant passion for glass. In 1946, he repeatedly went to Murano to study the art of glassmaking. Here he met Paolo Venini, a decisive meeting for both of them: this young man’s creativity marked a breaking point in the history of VENINI. Vehement research and experimentation with new glassmaking techniques, which often implies re-elaborating very ancient skills, is a constant in Fulvio Bianconi’s work. New movements and colors emerge in the glass and retrace the bond between the history of Murano and a great modernity. This contamination between craft and creative flair has given rise to several iconic works, such as the Figure della Commedia dell ’Arte, the Tiepolo, the Fazzoletto, the Sirene and the Pezzati.

Country: Murano Venezia, Italy.

Period: Mid-century, 1950.

Designer: Fulvio Bianconi, (1915-1996).

Model: Venini model-4315.

Edition: Unique piece.

Technique: Blue-green soffiato art-glass and red Fasce-Orizontali.

Weight: About 2.30 pounds, (1.04 Kg.). 

Measurements: Height 350 mm; Diameter in the base 95.3 mm; Diameter on top is 30 mm. (13.75 x 3.75 x 1.18 Inches).

Signature: Signed at the bottom with the early three lines acid stamp, reading as follows, "VENINI MURANO ITALIA" and remains of the original label.

Venini

Beginning in the 1930s and throughout the postwar years, 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.

Literature: Marino Barovier and Carla Sonego, Fulvio Bianconi alla Venini, Skira, Milan, 2015, pp. 193 and 200 for this model illustrated.

Exhibitions: 1950, Venice, 25th Biennale; 1952, Venice, 26th Biennale; September 13, 2015-January 10, 2016, Venice, Le Stanze del Vetro.

Condition: The overall condition of this Venini-Bianconi tall bottle is excellent. Beside the little normal wear, there is absolutely no damage, cracks or repairs. This bottle was carefully inspected to guarantee the condition & authenticity.

INVENTORY REF: D031026MREN/.6109