Important Design Including Post War + Contemporary Art 
5 June 2019
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 1 of 3
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 2 of 3
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 3 of 3
Important Design Including Post War + Contemporary Art 
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 1 of 3
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 2 of 3
Carlo Scarpa, Rare Inciso vase, model 3941 - Image 3 of 3
109

Carlo Scarpa

Rare Inciso vase, model 3941

Venini
Italy, 1940-42
glass with incised wave pattern and ground wave-shaped ribbons 9¾ h × 4¼ dia in (25 × 11 cm)
estimate: $60,000–80,000
result: $77,500
follow artist
own a similar item?
free evaluation

Two-line acid stamp to underside 'Venini Murano'.
provenance: Private Collection
literature: Carlo Scarpa: Venini 1932-1947, Barovier, pg. 341 illustrates model

print

Carlo Scarpa Rare Inciso vase

by Jim Oliveira

Ever willing to experiment and develop new techniques, Carlo Scarpa’s Incisi (incised) series for Venini was among his most innovative. Working with Venini’s master grinders and engravers, Scarpa designed unique artifacts with abstract, geometric motifs.

In this piece we see a deeply cut, abstract wave design enhanced by a Velato finish. Executed in sea-green glass, it conveys the feeling of wave-action and the Venetian lagoon but in a playful, modernist style reminiscent of the Catalan painter Joan Miró or the collages of Henri Matisse.

Motif study for vase no. 3941, c. 1942
Period photo, 1940–1942

The imaginative design and beautiful execution of this piece make it a fine example of Scarpa’s best work for Venini. This vase is also extremely rare and the first of its kind to be presented at auction.

109