An auction is scheduled for March 28 at Christie“s in London of a single-owner collection of Venetian and facon de Venise glass. Spanning the 16th to the 19th centuries, the sale is expected to reali…
An auction is scheduled for March 28 at Christie“s in London of a single-owner collection of Venetian and facon de Venise glass. Spanning the 16th to the 19th centuries, the sale is expected to realize in excess of UK 1 million (Euros 1.6 million). Among the items is a facon de Venise, gilt oviform vase and cover, dating from 1570 to 1590. It was made in either Venice or the Court Glasshouse in Innsbruck, which Archduke Ferdinand II of the Tyrol (who allegedly blew glass himself) founded after pressuring Venetian authorities to lend him craftsmen, who had to return to Murano when their contracts were honoured. The unusual glass shares the distinctive gray tint, “cold-painted” and diamond-engraved decoration of Innsbruck glass, although its attribution has now been questioned (some believe the impassioned archduke may have purchased it in Venice). Based on Christie“s estimate, the vase would now cost the archduke between UK 40,000-60,000. The craft“s apogee came in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with its beautiful enameled and gilded glass. A rare blue-glass footed bowl, circa 1500, with a bold geometric gilded and jeweled border is up for sale. With a restored foot, its estimate is UK 2,000-3,000. Over 200 crystal pieces, whose perfection is found in the clarity of the glass, will go on sale. Estimates for the mostly delicate wine-glasses and cups range from UK 1,000-3,000. The complexity of latticino glass, with its opaque white colouring and intricate geometric patterns, should run a bit dearer. A late 16th-century drinking glass should cost around UK 5,000-7,000 and a lobed bowl of the same period somewhere between UK 4,000 and 6,000. A cold-painted devotional flask, many bearing the image of St. Nicholas, will be offered at UK 1,000.