Reference Number: D10635

A beautiful glass mounted photograph frame attributable to the world renowned Venini in Venice, Italy. The twisted glass rope picture frame was manufactured around the middle of the 20th century and encapsulates Venini’s philosophy of elegance and art using a signature technique of stripe-like threads in his designs.

Although it is not stamped Venini anywhere, his work is quite recognisable and this frame embodies the work coming from his studio in the middle of the 20th century and clearly shows age to the metalware and backing. It really makes a statement and would look wonderful on any sideboard or desk, marrying up well with any style of interior, whether traditional, mid-century or modern.

A brief history about the founding father, Paolo Venini. Born 1895 in Venice, Italy, he was an Italian glassmaker, designer and manufacturer of glassware whose works are outstanding for their combination of traditional technique and modern form. His glass factory in Murano contributed to a revival of art-glass manufacturing in the 1930s and ’40s and employed some of the finest designers of the period, among them Gio Ponti and Tyra Lundgren.Although Venini was educated to be a lawyer, his family had been in the glassmaking business in Italy since the 18th century. In 1921, after practicing law in Milan for a short time, he bought a partnership in a Murano glass firm, establishing his own Venini and Company four years later. From the very beginning, Venini’s workshop turned out beautiful tableware that was years ahead of the work of other contemporary designers. His own designs were strikingly simple, their purity of outline set off against unusual combinations of colours worked into the glass in bold, stripe-like threads, lattices, grids, and, sometimes, the traditional Venetian millefiore manner. His boldly striped translucent glass lampshades won critical acclaim. His pieces are displayed in museums and considered prime examples of modern glass artistry.