On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Goblet

ca. 1903 (made)
Artist/Maker
Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Co. Ltd (manufacturer)
Place of origin
Venice (made)

In the late 19th century and early 20th, several Venetian glass workshops and factories specialised in the production of handmade glass in the 'traditional Venetian style'. In some cases they copied existing historic examples very closely. Sometimes their work was so successful that it was soon being sold in antiques markets. This goblet was closely copied from a fragmentary beaker that came to light when the campanile, or bell-tower, in St Mark's Square in Venice collapsed in 1902. This copy was made in the following year by 'The Venice and Murano Glass Company Ltd' with the intention to supply it to ‘Museums, Collectors and others wishing to posses an interesting relic of the Campanile of St Mark’. It was indeed bought by the V&A in 1903 for that very reason.

Object details

Categories
Glass
Drinking
Object type
Goblet
Materials and techniques
Enamelled glass
Brief description
Goblet, Italy (Venice), made by The Venice and Murano Glass Co. Ltd., 1903
Dimensions
  • Height: 14.0cm
  • Maximum width: 10.0cm
Styles
19TH CONT
HISTORICIST
Gallery label
This so called 'Campanile cup' is a copy of an early 16th-century glass, of which fragments were recovered in the ruins of the St. Marco Campanile in Venice in 1902.
Summary
In the late 19th century and early 20th, several Venetian glass workshops and factories specialised in the production of handmade glass in the 'traditional Venetian style'. In some cases they copied existing historic examples very closely. Sometimes their work was so successful that it was soon being sold in antiques markets. This goblet was closely copied from a fragmentary beaker that came to light when the campanile, or bell-tower, in St Mark's Square in Venice collapsed in 1902. This copy was made in the following year by 'The Venice and Murano Glass Company Ltd' with the intention to supply it to ‘Museums, Collectors and others wishing to posses an interesting relic of the Campanile of St Mark’. It was indeed bought by the V&A in 1903 for that very reason.
Bibliographic references
  • Gasparetto, A., Il vetro di Murano, 1958, fig. 40
  • Rosa Barovier-Mentasti, Galanterie di Vetro: Il Risorgimento vetrario di Murano nella colezzione Boos-Smith, Venice 2010, cat 42, Ill 17. The original box is marked: 'Griffon Freres Venise', but probably made by Francesco or Vittorio Toso Borella
Other number
9401 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
531-1903

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1311/goblet-venice-and-murano/
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