Napoleone Martinuzzi - Design New York Tuesday, December 7, 2021 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Da Giannino restaurant, Milan
    Phillips, London, "Important Design," March 21, 2019, lot 4
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Carlo A. Felice, Arte Decorativa all'Esposizione di Monza, Milan, 1930, pl. 2
    Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Gli Artisti Di Venini: Per Una Storia Del Vetro D’arte Veneziano, exh. cat., Istituto di Storia dell’Arte, Venice, 1996, p. 76
    Marino Barovier, Napoleone Martinuzzi, Venini 1925-1931, exh. cat., Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, 2013, pp. 27, 42, 309, 403-05

  • Catalogue Essay

    Executed in Venini's Murano studios, the present model was designed by Martinuzzi shortly before his departure from the company in 1932. Made in Martinuzzi’s distinctive pulegoso glass, the opaque effect was created by adding a substance, usually bicarbonate of soda, to the molten glass paste. The resulting reaction produces irregular air bubbles which lend the glass its spongy appearance and enables unusual chromatic effects. The present pair of ceiling lights are a rare example of Martinuzzi’s use of this technique for a light fixture.

Property from a Private California Collection

11

Two rare ceiling lights

circa 1929
Pulegoso glass, painted metal.
Larger: 36 1/4 in. (92.1 cm) drop, 25 in. (63.5 cm) diameter
Smaller: 36 1/4 (92.1 cm) drop, 21 1/4 in. (54 cm) diameter

Produced by Venini & C., Murano, Italy.

Estimate
$25,000 - 35,000 

Sold for $21,420

Contact Specialist

DesignNewYork@phillips.com
212-940-1268

Design

New York Auction 7 December 2021