Important Italian Glass 
9 June 2012
Important Italian Glass 
200

Dino Martens

Oriente ewer

Aureliano Toso
Italy, 1954
opaque polychrome internally decorated glass with pinwheel and murrina 10¼ h × 11 w × 7¼ d in (26 × 28 × 18 cm)
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $21,250
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Like many of the great Murano glass designers of the 20th century, Dino Martens was an accomplished painter. Working with the Aureliano Toso glass factory he produced a remarkable series of vases between 1946 and 1960 which combined traditional Venetian techniques with bold colors and asymmetrical forms. The most well known of these, the Oriente series, exemplifies his painterly style and has become iconic of the period.
provenance: Collection of Odetto Lastra, Union City, NJ
literature: Dino Martens: Muranese Glass Designer, Heiremans, pg. 80 illustrates this work

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Dino Martens 1894–1970

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Born in Venice in 1894, Dino Martens studied painting and design at the Accademia di Belle Art in Rome. A talented artist, his paintings were exhibited at the Venice Biennale between 1924 and 1930. In the mid-1920s, Martens was a partner and decorator for S.A.L.I.R. and later took a position as designer for Salviati & Co. In 1939, upon returning from the African War, Martens became artistic director for the famed glass firm, Aureliano Toso.

Martens' work for Aureliano Toso has become legendary for its inventiveness, experimentation and excess. His innovative use of oversized murrines, brightly colored metallic powders and fragments of glass rods, all expressed in wildly biomorphic forms, have become synonymous with Murano glass style of the 1950s.

Auction Results Dino Martens

Dino Martens

Sirventese bottle, model 6319

estimate: $30,000–40,000

result: $221,000

Dino Martens

Rare Brocca Generosa vase

estimate: $10,000–12,000

result: $100,000

Dino Martens

Sirventese bottle, model 6319

estimate: $50,000–70,000

result: $75,000

Dino Martens

unique Vanita vase

estimate: $10,000–15,000

result: $70,000

Dino Martens

Eldorado ewer with handle, model 5271

estimate: $50,000–70,000

result: $62,500

Dino Martens

Geltrude vase, model 5299

estimate: $30,000–40,000

result: $62,500

Dino Martens

Oriente vase, model 5380

estimate: $9,000–12,000

result: $31,250

Dino Martens

rare Zanfirico vase

estimate: $10,000–15,000

result: $30,000
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