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Fabian Öhrn

This vase, made by Salviati & Company around 1960, shows how well Murano glass accommodated itself to modernism. To create the concentric colors, the glassmakers used successive layers of molten glass—first purple, then blue, then clear. The staggered color effect emphasizes and echoes the gourd-like shape of the whole.

Just as the Italian Art of Glassblowing Was on the Verge of Shattering, a Talented Craftsman in Murano Emerged to Revive It

Antonio Salviati opened his glass factory in 1859 to help restore a local landmark to its former glory. A vase at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum tells its story