Sculptural ashtray attributed to Flavio Poli for Seguso Vetri d’Arte 1970

Refined sculptural ashtray attributed to Flavio Poli for Seguso Vetri d’Arte, made in Murano between the 1950s and 1960s, an impeccable example of the submerged glass technique that made the master famous. The work features a faceted body of great geometric purity, shaped from a single solid block of multi-layer glass: an internal core with intense amethyst shades emerges through a crystalline band in blue tones and then yellow, creating an extremely sophisticated luminous dialogue. The external surfaces, hand-ground with absolute precision, are articulated into inclined planes and diamond cuts that refract the light and transform the volume into a true optical sculpture. The hollowed interior reveals a soft cavity, perfectly smoothed, typical of Poli’s poetics, in which transparency and color seem to merge into a single fluid mass. The contrast between the geometric rigor of the external faces and the roundness of the submerged core gives the work a visual balance of rare elegance, while the amethyst–aquamarine chromatic combination represents one of the most sought-after palettes of mid-century Seguso production. The object, of notable weight and crystalline quality, is an extraordinary example of Murano mastery in postwar artistic glass and constitutes an iconic piece for collectors and connoisseurs of Italian submerged glass. Excellent vintage condition – we note only a small chip of 1 mm, as shown in the photographs.