Assembled over a thirty year period by a New York collector, the following group of sculptures and vases are based on drawings by Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. This relationship between world famous contemporary artists and Murano glass master blowers began in 1954 when entrepreneur Egidio Costantini met Picasso in the ceramics producing town of Vallauris, France. Shortly thereafter, Picasso challenged Costantini to produce a series of nymphs and fauns in glass. This meeting was encouraged by modern art collector and gallerist Peggy Guggenheim who was living in Venice at the time and felt that the work of Picasso and his contemporaries would translate well into the medium of Murano glass. Costantini would go on to found a company which would promote this relationship between modern artists and Murano glassblowers, the Fucina degli Angeli. Working closely with the IVR Mazzega firm and their young master blower Ermanno Nason, Fucina degli Angeli would produce a wide range of influential limited edition sculptures and vases, works that would go on to inspire a generation of Murano’s designers, including Fulvio Bianconi. Often imitated and reproduced, these innovative works represent a unique moment in Murano glass history and the pieces presented here are some of the finest examples known.
