Ercole Barovier - Barovier & Toso 'A Grosse Costolature' bowl 1942

Large shell-shaped bowl 'A Grosse Costolature' in heavy iridescent Murano glass. Designed by Ercole Barovier and made by Barovier & Toso around 1948, Murano, Italy. Barovier & Toso is the oldest Murano glass manufacturer, founded in 1295. In the early 1900s, Benvenuto Barovier, Vittorio Zecchin, and Umberto Belotto designed a series of mosaic glass in the Art Nouveau style. In 1920, Ercole Barovier became the artistic director. Under his leadership, Barovier, Barovier & Toso won numerous awards for their innovations. In 1930, the award-winning “Primavera” series was presented at the Venice Biennale. Barovier continued to produce innovative designs, several of which became iconic, such as 'Lenti', 'Crepuscolo', 'Autunno Gemmato', 'Oriente', 'Rostrato', 'Tessere', and 'Barbarico'. The company became Ferro Toso Vetrerie Artistiche Riunite S.A in 1936 following a merger with Ferro Toso. In 1942, the company was renamed Barovier & Toso. It also created works by Matteo Thun, Giusto and Renato Toso, Toni Zuccheri, and Sergio Asti. Today, Barovier primarily focuses on luxury lighting. Bibliographic reference: Marina Barovier, Art of the Barovier Glassmakers in Murano 1866-1972, Verona 1993, page 161.