Currently held on consignment at Andrews Oakville
This luxuriant work of Swedish art crystal, handblown in c. 2,400°F / 1,300°C was crafted using the Bullicante ('Controlled Bubble') art glass technique by the Marcolin brothers for their art glass studio FM Konstglas (1961-1991) in Ronneby, Sweden.
Made famous in the 1930s by Archimede Seguso, the Bullicante technique involves overlaying several layers of air bubbles in a net pattern inside a piece. In solid crystal, this piece celebrates the exquisite precision of the Bullicante technique with the delicately encasing net pattern over a core layer of 24-karat gold. Being handblown works of art, every piece is finished with its own slightly unique accent of hand-worked leaf and stem detailing.
This exceptional work is timelessly Modern yet luxurious in style and brings with it an elevated yet glamorous simplicity.
CONDITION
Excellent. No chips, cracks, or repairs. There is faint wear of movement marks on the underside of the base that is commensurate with the age. Work bears original label in use during early-1960s denoting: FM Konstglas, Ronneby, Sweden and a further label 'akta guld 24k' ['Pure Gold'] Please see photographs as they form part of the condition report.
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 3.7" / 9.3 cm tall. Diameter c. 2.4" / 9.6 cm (across the widest point). Base measurements: c. 1.6" / 4 cm diameter. Unpackaged Weight: c. 1.0 kg / 1,020 g.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Färe-Marcolin Konstglas, Ronneby (1961-1991) Josef Marcolin (b.1933 - d. 2015) and Benito Marcolin (b.1936) learned their art glass skill and techniques in Murano, Venice before moving to Sweden in 1954 to work at the Glimma glassworks. They would move to Reijmyre glassworks in 1956 before starting their own company, FM Konstglas around 1961. Several of their designs can be seen in both Reijmyre and FM Konstglas. FM stands for Färe-Marcolin, a combination of the brothers' surname and the maiden name of Josef's wife, Inga-Lill Färe. Inga-Lill's father Bror Färe was a businessman, and it is thought that he helped to fund the company, which would explain the inclusion of his surname in the company name.
The original glassworks was based in Eneryda and hence any glass produced while at Eneryda bore labels with 'FM Konstglas, Eneryda'. The glassworks would move to Ronneby in 1961 and the labels were subsequently changed to 'FM Konstglas, Ronneby' or 'FM Konstglas, Ronneby, Sweden'. FM Konstglas / Marcolin pieces began as mainly glass figurines, with a unique blended style and techniques of Swedish and Murano art glass. They also produced other glassware such as vases, bowls, and perfume bottles, using traditional Murano techniques such as Millefiori, Sommerso, Sfumato, and Zanfirico. FM Konstglas pieces without labels are often mistaken for Murano glass.
The company changed its name to FM Marcolin Art Crystal in 1983 and changed again to Marcolin Art Crystal around 1988. The Swedish factory closed in 1991 and production was moved to Sardinia, Italy with the intention of producing the same products with Sardinia Crystal glassworks. Sadly, production didn't last long and the Marcolin brothers went their separate ways. Benito moved back to Sweden, while Josef moved to Austria and production continued under the name Marcolin Art Crystal.