Murano Glass - Carlo Moretti

Another piece from my glass collection

Finally Selfridges have come to their senses and started selling some decent Murano glass having removed it from the shelves a couple of years ago. Now, once again, you can buy Carlo Moretti and Cenedese in the glass department. Stupidly Harrods has redesigned their glass hall and now focus on the most garish pieces money can buy. They no longer sell Carlo Moretti or Cenedese. All a bit odd how the Buyers decide what to buy or not to buy in this case. One year they all sell it, the next no one sells it, then one sells it again when the other doesn’t. The only decent stuff Harrods now have is by the Czech glass maker Moser. And Moser is amazing, beautifully crafted, superb polishing all in amazing colours with the most fantastic engraving money can buy, should that be your thing. I have pieces by all of the above but thought I would share the Troncono ‘Conical Trunk’ which I bought at Harrods (before they stopped selling Moretti obviously).

On the Carlo Moretti website it says that it is a limited edition of 300. Weird, because I have number 82 / 333.

The vase is described as being ‘clear crystal with vertical stripes in turquoise and lapis lazuli with two horizontal bands in red’. Although I have just noticed, my vase has three stripes! perhaps it is a different edition. In any event, what I really like about this vase is that it feels kind of rustic and looks great with a cheap bunch of flowers. Who says luxury is all about money?

http://www.moser-glass.com

http://www.carlomoretti.com/

http://www.cenedesegino.it

Luxury Glass Makers of the World

I have been collecting amazing pieces of glass for about fifteen years now. What fascinates me is the skill of the blowers. From a base of silica that is mixed with a flux that is then melted the almost fluorescent colours rise. It has to be said that some of the finest pieces I have are from Murano, some I have bought on the Island myself, some have been given to me (lucky me:)).

It is interesting, going back to my first blog about luxury and department stores, the more I think about it the more obvious it is becoming. Department stores like Selfridges and Harrods used to sell quite a lot of Murano glass by Salviati, Cenedese and Carlo Moretti. No longer, as these department stores loose their luxury lustre and focus on luxury brand diversification it is left to the smaller specialist stores like Vessel in London to showcase the work of the craftsmen. To be honest, a smaller specialist store is probably a better outlet for such amazing pieces of glass. For those who are interested I thought I would share one of my favorite pieces. The blue, orange, black and white stripes of this Salviati vase are put together using the Canna (cane) method and mouth blown into a wooden mold. This is what Salviati say on their website 'the Canna is a piece of either transparent or opaque glass that has been drawn out into a long stick (or cane). Segments of canes of various lengths and colors are laid out on a flat surface in a decorative pattern and are heated in the furnace'. For some reason the elongated vase reminds me of Brancusi's Bird in Space.

www.salviati.com

www.cenedesegino.it

www.carlomoretti.com

www.vesselgallery.com