Great success achieved for the private collection Vetri italiani

TUESDAY 28 OctobER 2014, 6.30 PM
Great success
achieved for the
private collection
Vetri italiani
New world record price for
Fulvio Bianconi
PIASA
118 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
PRESS AND COMMUNICATION
Cécile Demtchenko Woringer
T +33 1 53 34 12 95 – M +33 6 38 93 44 15
[email protected]
Press release
The sale of a private collection entitled Vetri Italiani 1932-92, staged at PIASA
in Paris yesterday, paid tribute to Italian master glassmakers – yielding sales of
almost €1 million (inc. premium) and setting record prices for Fulvio Bianconi
and Flavio Poli.
This exceptional collection was assembled over a thirty-year period and showcased the
leading names in Italian glass, illustrating decades of amazing creativity and technical
skill unique to Murano.
Highlight was a vibrantly coloured A Fasce vase by Fulvio Bianconi that flew to
€298,140, setting a new world record price for the artist (lot 13, est. €100,000-150,000).
Bianconi began working with Venini in 1940, and his powerful imagination and
towering artistic personality fuelled an astonishing output. He designed glass with
dazzling, shimmering colour, including the legendary Pezzati, A Spichi and Scozzesi
vases. Just two other versions of the A Fasce vase acquired by a connoisseur at PIASA
were made: one is in an American collection; the other was formerly in the Museo
Venini, but stolen and never recovered. It counts among the most sought-after designs
in Bianconi’s entire oeuvre. The layers of colour reveal Bianconi’s incredible skill:
colour becomes form, following the curves of the vase in a highly personal technique
that established Bianconi’s reputation and become his hallmark.
Other works by Bianconi to arouse keen bidding came from his Mermaid series –
including a translucent vase revealing a dreamlike Mermaid that more than doubled
hopes on €37,740 (lot 109, est. €10,000-15,000); and a Mermaid figurine dated 1951 at
€35,260 (lot 160, est. €18,000-25,000).
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Fulvio Bianconi (1915-1996)
Lot 13
A fasce
Venini
Date de création : 1954 / deux
cachets à l’acide venini murano
ITALIA
28 x 15,5 cmx 12 cm
Bibliographie : «Glas Vom
Jugendstil bis Heute - Sammlung
Gertrud und Dr. Karl FunkeKaiser», Koeln 1981, p. 495, fig. 385
Estimation 120 000 / 180 000 €
Vendu 298 140 €
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The other star of the sale was Flavio Poli, who achieved a new record price of €81,140
with his emblematic Siderale vase (lot 25, est. €15,000-20,000). Poli was the leading
exponent of the sommerso technique, which consists of superimposing layers of
glass by successively immersing the object in crucibles of glass in fusion to produce
subtle colour combinations. His Siderale vase is an iconic piece of 1950s Italian design,
embodying the special siprit of Murano – with the perfection of traditional technique
allied to modernistic form and design. Equally representative of this technique were
two Sommero vases – one sold for €1,531 (lot 54, est. €700-900), the second for €10,846
(lot 55, est. €2,000-3,000).
Flavio Poli (1900-1984)
Lot 25
Siderale
Vase
Verre de Murano jaune et vert
Seguso Vetri d’Arte Murano
Date de création : 1952
Dimensions : H 24,5 cm
Bibliographie : - Franco Deboni,
«Murano 900», 1996, photo de
couverture et p.230, fig.146
Estimation 15 000 / 20 000 €
Vendu : 81 140 €
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The sale also featured designs by Carlo Scarpa – perhaps better known as an architect,
but whose excellent glassware enthralled collectors in the saleroom. The Murrine vase
attributed to him virtually tripled hopes on €14,036 (lot 11, est. €5,000-7,000), and there
were handsome prices for his Bollicine vase at €8,932 (lot 23, est. €7,000-9,000) and his
Tessuto vase at €8,294 (lot 130, est. €4,000-6,000).
Designs by Archimede Seguso also caused a surprise, notably his A Piume vase at
€7,656 (lot 122, est. €2,500-3,500) and his A Macchie vase at €6,635 (lot 124, est. €8001,200). And fierce telephone battles saw Ercole Barovier’s Tessere Ambra and Intarsio
vases fetch €8,932 each (lots 144/145, est. €3,000-4,000 apiece).
Top lots
Lot 13 – Fulvio Bianconi – A fasce – est. 120 000/180 000 € – sold 298 140 € –
Record price for a work of the artist
Lot 25 – Flavio Poli – Siderale – est. 25 000/35 000 € – sold 81 140 € –
Record price for a work of the artist
Lot 109 – Fulvio Bianconi – Mermaid – est. 10 000/15 000 € – sold 37 740 €
Lot 160 – Fulvio Bianconi – Mermaid – est. 18 000/25 000 € – sold 35 260 €
Lot 135 – Fulvio Bianconi – La caduta di Icaro – est. 10 000/15 000 € – sold 16 588 €
Lot 11 – Carlo Scarpa (attribué à) – Murrine – est. 5 000/7 000 € – sold 14 036 €
Lot 168 – Fulvio Bianconi – A fasce – est. 5 000/7 000 € – sold 12 122 €
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Design Department
Cédric Morisset
François Épin
Cindy Chanthavong
DESIGN auction schedule
> Thursday 6 November
Pierre Culot, 50 years of creation
> Tuesday 26 November
Italian Design
Gabriella Crespi, Timeless
> Wednesday 17 December
Design XXe and XXIe centuries including
Fred Brouard
Fabrice Ausset, a Parisian interior
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