Incollect Magazine Issue 7

Incollect Magazine 109 The Lenti series was technically complex to make with no two pieces entirely the same and for that reason, they remain among Ercole Barovier’s most prized and sought-after designs. A cylindrical glass vase from the Lenti series from the 1940s being offered by Società Antiquaria is an example of his creative use of metals and oxides in the Lenti pieces: a layer of glass colored with copper to give a green color is cased in large appliqué molded round lens shape bubbles filled with burst gold leaf to form a multilayered and textured design that is immediately striking. “This is a very rare cylindrical blown glass vase from the Lenti series — designed by Ercole himself — formed by layers of glass colored with gold leaf and decorated with large molded hemispheres,” says Cecilia Paccagnella from Società Antiquaria in Turin. soyun k. has a beautiful colorless crystal glass chandelier from the Lenti series with, as the gallery explains, “semi- spherical applications and fused lenti shade, stem, and canopy.” Here the emphasis is on the glass-blowing method which incorporates many dozens of small glass spheres or balls covering the item. “The Lenti series in the 1940s is a fine example of Ercole Barovier’s cutting edge production in which several thick layers of blown and molded glass or “cased” glass are applied in hemispherical form,” says Margaret Kim from soyun k. Avventurina Avventurina is an interesting type of glassmaking invented in Murano around 1620 by accident, or so the story goes. Legend has it a 17th-century artisan dropped some metal shavings into a glass mixture leading to some accidental if attractive and shimmering translucent visual effects — hence the name, derived from the Italian expression ‘all avventura’ which in English means ‘by chance.’ Today the technique refers loosely to a variety of translucent glass with sparkling inclusions of gold, copper, metal, or oxides used to create designs and color within glass. Offered by Atomic Antiques, a very nice, small glass “vide poche” signed by Ercole Barovier is a good example of how the artist often combined several glassmaking techniques in a single object. In this piece, we see gold leaf avventurina-style inclusions combined with random bubbles, made using a Top: Among the most interesting techniques developed by Ercole Barovier in the 1930s is crepuscolo, (twilight) in which steel wool is inserted between layers of molten glass before blowing into its final form. Smokey threads rise and swirl throughout, giving a mysterious effect; this design is further embellished with applied medallions of clear glass. From Pavilion Antiques and 20thc on Incollect. Bottom: A “vide poche” (empty pocket) or small trinket dish named as such for its original purpose, which was to hold keys and pocket change, by Ercole Barovier. It is a fine example of the glassblower’s art, combining randomly dispersed pulegoso bubbles with gold leaf avventurina inclusions. From Atomic Antiques at The Gallery at 200 Lex Powered by Incollect.