Vanity Fair

Aqua and gold perfume bottles from Murano, 1950s...lovely for the powder room or dresser.

 5", 6", 8"

It's Greek to Me

The Greek Key motif as interpreted mid-50s in Bavarian porcelain.
Monumental at 22" tall

Giant German

A monumental moment in West German pottery...this floor vase stands over 2' tall. A matte and mottled glaze in the most subtle shade of chartreuse. Karlsruher Majolika company from the 1950s.

Deadstock Discoveries

One of the most striking things about shopping with us is the sheer number of choices at any one time. People often ask us just how we amass such collections. In most cases, it is a matter of searching high and low and piece by piece, but as in any business, sometimes it's who you know. One such valued source is a dealer we know who acquired, through auction, an entire storage facility filled with never before used (also known as "deadstock" to the trade) vintage Venetian glass. Lucky for us and convenient for the decorator! This grouping of tapered 1950s Italian cased glass vases are from a factory called Balboa.

Tall pieces are 14", Short pieces 11"

Woman of Steel

An impressive lady hand wrought in the manner of Giacometti...she stands over 26" tall. An unsigned mid-century model of figurative art, constructed of a multitude of mini-metal rods.

Circular Stunner

Attributed to Maison Jansen, the distinguished French interior design firm which produced fine furniture from 1880-1989. The famed firm's expertise was reinterpreting classical French designs with a decidedly modernist twist. Huge at 58" inches in diameter (and standing 19" tall), this is a statement making coffee table for a stately room. Gilt brass and steel, circa 1970s.

More Gilty Pleasures

Swiss designer Hans Theo Baumann's career has been so prolific that his achievements merited a book to celebrate his work ( a gift to us from one of our best German dealers). Above is a great collection which he designed in the 50's and which remained in production at Rosenthal into the 60s.

Citrus-y Box

Ceramic boxes are a mainstay of mid-century design and nobody did them better in the 50s than Aldo Londi for Bitossi. Orange with a mosaic pattern and a crackle glass glaze.
Box measures 2" tall, Top = 8" x 4"

Dotty Box

American made glass from the 30s from a factory called Fenton, est. 1905 and still in operation in Williamstown, West Virginia. Clear glass topped with opalescent dots.
Box measures 2.5" tall, Top = 5" x 2.5"

Gilty Pleasure

A cylindrical porcelain box in a particularly tribal pattern with a generous amount of 24k gold from the famous Fürstenberg factory, a company established in 1747! This modern departure came in the 1960s. 
Just over 4" high

Beautiful Bullicante

Encased bubbles by the millions makes this ruby red Murano paperweight from the 50s so spectacularly effervescent. As wide as it is tall at 4 x 4 inches.

Prized Piece

To the serious collector of Italian pottery, one of the most coveted names is that of Guido Gambone. Prior to starting his own studio, Maestro Gambone worked for a factory called C.A.S. (Ceramica Artistica Solimene). This signed piece, circa 1950, features his signature crazed crystalline glass glaze over stoneware pottery. His shapes and motifs are often playful, if not animated in their design.

13" tall

Can You Handle These?

An unlikely pairing resulted in this perfect pair. Famed German artist Walter Giers (known for electronic art - a sort of German Dan Flavin) designed these Bauhausian fruit bowls mid-century for a renown firm called Erhard & Söhne. They are another one of those 19th Century companies that prevailed and flourished in the 20th century, actually holding the world's original patent for brass inlay. By the late 60s or early 70s these smoked glass and brass creations were made for the stylish masses.
Bowls Diameters measure 8.5" and 6.5" repectively

Concave/Convex

A rare piece from Wayne Husted for Blenko, USA, 1956. Sea Green glass with such odd proportions... making this, in my mind, more of a sculpture than a practical bowl. But, therein lies the intrigue and beauty.
3.5" high and 6" in diameter

Venini Funghi

A staple we always strive to keep available in our shop is the 'Mushroom' lamp from Venini. A beautiful single piece of blown glass that forms the perfect ambient lamp for the shelf or for the bedside. What makes this version so rare is the lime green coloration. We've never seen this shape in this color before, making it that much more collectible.
11"tall

Red Hot Bowl

Some glass is so vibrant in fluorescent color that it appears to be illuminated from within...such is the case with this classic bowl from the venerable Murano factory of Seguso, circa the 1950s. Fire engine red so saturated it seems to be still molten.
6.5" in diameter

Smoky Stems

A terrific trio of smoked glass stemmed vases from Italy in the 60s. Stunning in their simplicity and quite contemporary for their minimalism. They feel very Armani Casa or Calvin Klein Home...but the vintage equivalent, of course.
Heights range from 11" to 13" to 15"

Funky Cool Mdina

This axe-shaped vase (actually called a 'Fish-Vase') is the design of Michael Harris but likely executed by his first apprentice and the company's eventual heir apparent Joseph Said. Michael was  an ingenious British glass blower who moved to Malta in the late 60's in order to start the Mdina Glass Studio, but eventually returned home to The Ilse of Wight to start his own studio. This wild-colored amalgam of abstract expressionism is signed and dated 1978. Could Harris have been the Jackson Pollock of glass? Well, this is certainly a museum quality piece. 

9" x 7.5"

Return to Pompeii

Our collection of Bavarian porcelain from the German factory Hutschenreuther has increased exponentially. This surreal line called "Pompeji"  was designed by Fabius von Gugel in1964. There is a distinct link to the works of Italy's Fornasetti that we just love. The box has a hidden treasure inside, another small Pompeii-style "fresco" decorates its interior. 

Deluxe Details

A unique Bavarian beauty from the storied porcelain company Fürstenberg. In existence since 1747, this is an example of a modernist departure for the traditional company, circa early 1960s.
14.5"tall

Germanic Ceramics

One of the most celebrated names in German Pottery is that of Richard Uhlemeyer (1900-1954), whose work enjoyed a 6 month retrospective at the Keramik-Museum-Berlin just last year. These pieces were likely from the 40s given their coloration. This type of glaze is called a "copper reduction" as it gives the clay a patinated metallic look. The purposefully crazed surface is termed "variegated", which lends the pieces an antiqued appeal.
17" and 10" tall

Concentric Compote

A mind bending achievement in Italian glass blowing, this signed vintage Cenedese centerpiece demands attention. Wafer-thin and feather light, even its survival is miraculous. Notice the fine striations, of which there seem to be millions.
5" tall and 14.5" in diameter!

Lavender Lovely

All the heralded hallmarks of Barbini...beautiful fluting, a smattering of gold specks, and a touch of the Baroque in the scrolled details. Four feet tall and about 12" at its base, a great scale rarely seen.

Another Stud...

...This time of the West German variety. This yummy ceramic cylindrical vase literally looks like sections of an imported chocolate bar...with the added bonus of a teal interior.
Just over 9"

Stunning Studs

Milk Glass is admittedly not a typical category for us. Most times it reads more "Granny" than grand, but, as is often the case, we do make exceptions. This grouping of 3 have such geometric interest that they feel somehow Modern and Gothic at once. American-made mid-century.

15.5", 9.5", 5.5"

Foal in Repose

A precious equine figurine from Michael Andersen & Son, made on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, circa 1950s.
Just  3" x 5"

Latest Disc-Covery

A rare example of a "Disc" floor lamp by Carl Fagerlund for Orrefors, Sweden, circa 1960.

Hand blown crystal discs seem to float along the brass fitting. Even the base is made of crystal.

5' tall

Hot Lava

This grouping of streamlined German pottery by Siegfried Gramann for Töpferhof Gramann Römhild Studio features surfaces still within the category of Lava glazes, but are in a more sophisticated muted color palette and subtler texture than most of their ilk. 

Left: 12" tall

Center: 15.5" tall

Right: 10"

Fish Story

There are 3 sides to this story...although I'm not aware of any actual literary allusion it might represent. Perhaps its origins are mythical in nature or perhaps a Danish Moby Dick equivalent. The fish is neither a swordfish nor a whale, but some sort of mystical sea creature. In addition we have sailors on a Danish vessel and a classic dessert island...all captured in genuine 24k gold inlay. This is an Art Deco treasure from Royal Copenhagen, circa the 1930s.

Caged Heat

An interesting niche in lamp design can be found in these vintage Italian cage blown glass lights by Barovier & Toso, circa 1950s. (both examples above are 1 of 2 available)

A sort of modernist version of a Moroccan motif made in Murano.

The most intricate example in our collection is this single spectacular table lamp.

HAPPY NEW YEAR