Venini Clessidre Glass Hourglass in Pink and Gray by Fulvio Bianconi
About the Item
- Creator:Venini (Manufacturer),Fulvio Bianconi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.85 in (25 cm)Diameter: 3.94 in (10 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:7-8 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- 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 Bianconi's most iconic works in glass are the series of glass figures from the Commedia dell’Arte, his remarkably fluid bowls, and the patchwork “Pezzato” technique — his colorful vases created with this technique feature patterns that resemble those of a patchwork quilt. Works made in this fashion caused a sensation at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950.
Venini co-founder 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 worked with several other glass studios, including Cenedese in 1954 and Vistosi in 1963, creating decorative vessels, 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 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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Brooklyn, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Venini Fazzoletto Large Glass Vase in Gray by Fulvio Bianconi and Paolo VeniniBy Venini, Fulvio Bianconi & Paolo VeniniLocated in Brooklyn, NYFazzoletto glass vase, designed by Fulvio Bianconi and Paolo Venini and manufactured by Venini, is available in three different sizes. Original designed in 1948. Indoor use only. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Venini Ando Time Hourglass in Pink and Red by Tadao AndoBy Venini, Tadao AndoLocated in Brooklyn, NYAndo Time Hourglass, designed by Tadao Ando and manufactured by Venini, is a limited edition of 49 art pieces (per color) plus an additional 20 P.d.A. a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Venini Ando Time Hourglass in Pink and Straw Yellow by Tadao AndoBy Venini, Tadao AndoLocated in Brooklyn, NYAndo time hourglass, designed by Tadao Ando and manufactured by Venini, is a limited edition of 49 art pieces (per color) plus an additional 20 P.d.A. a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Venini Ando Time Hourglass in Crystal and Red by Tadao AndoBy Venini, Tadao AndoLocated in Brooklyn, NYAndo Time Hourglass, designed by Tadao Ando and manufactured by Venini, is a limited edition of 49 art pieces (per color) plus an additional 20 P.d.A. a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Venini Ando Time Hourglass in Grape and Bamboo by Tadao AndoBy Venini, Tadao AndoLocated in Brooklyn, NYAndo Time Hourglass, designed by Tadao Ando and manufactured by Venini, is a limited edition of 49 art pieces (per color) plus an additional 20 P.d.A. a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Venini Ando Time Hourglass in Crystal and Aquamarine by Tadao AndoBy Venini, Tadao AndoLocated in Brooklyn, NYAndo time hourglass, designed by Tadao Ando and manufactured by Venini, is a limited edition of 49 art pieces (per color) plus an additional 20 P.d.A. a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- Glass Sculpture by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini, Italy, 1960sBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Milan, ITGlass sculpture by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini. Colored glass block used as sample to compose screens, large windows or as single sculptures...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- 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
- Fulvio Bianconi Glass Figurine, Venini 1950 circaBy Fulvio BianconiLocated in Milano, ITPolychrome glass figurine with sleeve. Made to a design by Fulvio Bianconi for Venini. Acid signature on the base “Venini Murano Italia”. The figurine...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsGlass
- La Donna by Fulvio Bianconi, Female Shaped Blown Glass Vase, Venini MuranoBy Venini, Fulvio BianconiLocated in Brussels, BEThe body of the vase in transparent iridescent glass on the entire exterior. Of female form, recurring in the work of the artist, this vase is part of the last series of objects des...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi for Venini Murano Pair of Figurines Arlecchino and ArlecchinaBy Fulvio Bianconi, VeniniLocated in Brussels, BEA rare pair of figurines designed by Fulvio Bianconi, manufactured by Venini Murano in Italy, circa 1955. In lattimo glass with polychrome decoratio...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsArt Glass
- Fulvio Bianconi Venini sculpture in Murano glass 1949 woman acid stamped.By Fulvio BianconiLocated in Rio De Janeiro, RJIncredible and rare original FULVIO BIANCONI sculpture in artistic Murano glassby VENINI acid stamped in the base woman.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsMurano Glass