Art Inspiring Art: Murano Glass

In Venice, a city known for its robust glassmaking history, the Gallerie dell'Accademia is home to *The Annunciation*, an Italian Renaissance painting by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) depicting the scene when the Virgin Mary is told that she is carrying the child of God. Rich in color and golden light, the scene primarily depicts icons of the divine. But to the left of Mary's figure, viewers can spot a small translucent vessel — a vase whose delicate and difficult-to-produce form inspired glass designer Vittorio Zecchin in 1921.

Nov 2, 2016

Originally published on: May 27, 2013

BY Dylan Hayley Leavitt

Appraisal: Venini Vase, ca. 1930

Transcript

GUEST: I brought a piece of Murano glass. My father was a security salesman in Portland, Oregon, and occasionally, some of his clients would give him a gift as a thank you for the work he was doing, and this was a piece that they gave to him.

APPRAISER: And when did you acquire it?

GUEST: I think it was probably in the early '70s. It was on display in our family home, but actually, my taste is a little more Asian and Chinese art, so it's really been packed away for years. But I've always been curious if it's a piece of tourist glass or if it's actually an art piece of glass, so I just wanted to understand a little bit more about its history.

APPRAISER: Well, it is a piece of art glass,that I can assure you. It was actually made at a company called Cappellin Venini, or Venini, which was based in Murano. Murano is an island in Venice where there's a huge history of glass-making. All the Venetian glass comes from there. This is called a Veronese vase. Veronese was an Italian painter. In Venice, there's a painting of the Annunciation, and I believe there is a vessel in the painting that looks like this.

GUEST: I see.

APPRAISER: That's what inspired this design. It was first designed by Vittorio Zecchin in 1921, and he was the first director of the firm of Cappellin Venini. He was born in 1878, and this was the big vase that he designed for them back in 1921. It as first shown in 1922 at the Autumn Salon in Paris, and it has actually become a signature vase for Venini. They made it over a long period of time. This particular one was made between 1925 and 1935.

GUEST: Really, wow.

APPRAISER: The reason I know that is because of the mark on the underside. It says "Venini Murano," and it's the two-line signature. Later, in the 1950s, the signature became a three-liner, but this is the two-liner signature. The other reason I feel that this is an earlier version of the vase is it's got some imperfections in it, like I can see a thread of glass coming through here, and it's not absolutely perfect. And also, the color itself is more of an earlier color. The later ones, most of them I think are smaller and the colors are almost an opaline. So in terms of value, I would put a retail value on this piece of $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST: Oh, that's great! Yeah, super.

The vase was a signature piece designed in 1921 by Vittorio Zecchin, the first director of the firm, and was inspired by Veronese's Annunciation.

In Venice, a city known for its robust glassmaking history, the Gallerie dell'Accademia is home to The Annunciation, an Italian Renaissance painting by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) depicting the scene when the Virgin Mary is told that she is carrying the child of God. Rich in color and golden light, the scene primarily depicts icons of the divine. But to the left of Mary's figure, viewers can spot a small translucent vessel — a vase whose delicate and difficult-to-produce form inspired glass designer Vittorio Zecchin in 1921.

Glass Vessel in Painting — The glass vessel featured in The Annunciation inspired glassmaker Vittorio Zecchin to create a vase in its likeness.

Veronese Vase — The Veronese vase was named after the Italian painter and became a signature piece for the firm Cappelin Venini, based in Murano.

During ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's 2012 visit to Seattle, Washington, a similar vase was presented to glass expert Arlie Sulka. "My father was a security salesman," ROADSHOW guest Susan said, "and occasionally, some of his clients would give him a gift as a thank you for the work he was doing." Her family acquired the delicate aubergine piece in the 1970s, but she had always wondered whether it was true art glass.

As Sulka inspected the piece, it became clear to her that it was, in fact, a true piece of Venini Murano glass. Judging by a two-lined mark on the underside, coupled with the piece's imperfections, larger size, and color, Sulka was able to determine that the glass was made between 1925 and 1935 by a firm called Cappellin Venini in Murano, an island in the Venice Lagoon. It was also called a Veronese vase, after the Italian painter by that name who depicted the inspirational glass in his painting, The Annunciation. Like his contemporaries who painted in Venice, Veronese painted multiple commissioned versions of The Annunciation; however, this particular one depicts the vase on which Zecchin based his 1921 design. The glass was a signature piece by Zecchin, the first director of the firm, and has evolved to different commemorative iterations of the elegant, bulbous form over the years.

Dating back to the 8th century, since well before the Renaissance, Venice has been renowned for its art glass. In 1291, the glassmaking center was moved to Murano. "There are two schools of thought as to why it got moved," Sulka explained. "One was that they were concerned that fire from the furnaces could burn down Venice ... [the other is] that the people in Venice wanted to keep all of the glassmaking localized ... so that they could keep their glassmaking secrets from leaking out."

No matter the reason why the center of Venetian glassmaking moved to Murano, the island became home to the firm of Cappelin Venini. Vittorio Zecchin had been a quite well-known graphic designer, painter, and glass designer. The Veronese vase uncovered in Seattle that he designed became a signature vase for Venini — in fact, the piece was recreated for Venini's 90th anniversary in smaller, more opaline versions.

Despite a few imperfections on the piece, Sulka appraised the Murano vase for a retail value between $3,000 and $4,000.

(Editor's Note: This article was modified on May 28, 2013, to correct an error in which the Renaissance painting *The Annunciation* by Titian was incorrectly cited as the inspiration for this Veronese glass vase. The painting that inspired this glass form was in fact a 1578 painting by Veronese, also titled *The Annunciation*, which hangs in the collection of the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice.)

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Dylan Hayley Leavitt