Toni Zuccheri for Seguso Murano Italian Midcentury Glass Sconces Wall Lamps 1950

Italian glassmaker and master Murano craftsman Toni Zuccheri’s lifelong passion for nature and animals contributed to the development of some of the finest modernist works in Murano glass history. His mid-century-era chandeliers, wall sconces, table lamps and vases showcase his penchant for experimentation and exceptional skill in color and form.

Zuccheri was born in 1936 in San Vito al Tagliamento. His father was Luigi Zuccheri (1904–74), a renowned painter known for his depictions of animals (and friend of artist Giorgio De Chirico). Toni not only inherited his father’s love of the animal kingdom — particularly birds — but also his artistic talents, demonstrating an intuitive skill for drawing at an early age.

In 1945, the Zuccheri family moved to Venice. At the city’s University Institute of Architecture, Toni studied under esteemed Italian architects Franco Albini, Ignazio Gardella and Carlo Scarpa.

During the early 1960s, Zuccheri focused on the art of glassmaking and collaborated with Venini. While working with the celebrated Italian Murano glass factory, he developed an innovative type of thick window glass sheets called Vetrate Grosse with prolific Italian architect and furniture designer Gio Ponti. The glass was made of dense, vitreous pastes mixed with murrine, raw pigment, shards of filigrana cane and fine wire mesh.

Zuccheri exhibited a group of elaborate bird and farm animal sculptures at the 1964 Venice Biennale. The birds, which were accented with gold leaf, included vibrantly hued guinea fowl-shaped works with murrine bodies, turkeys, owls and hoopoes (colorful birds known for their crown of feathers). Zuccheri employed an ingenious glass layering technique to create the birds’ feathers, while their realistic-looking legs and feet were made of bronze.

Throughout his career, Zuccheri’s love of birds and animals was a recurring theme in many of his glassworks, which he created for Venini and other Italian Murano glass manufacturers such as VeArt and Barovier Toso. Today, his work lives on in galleries and private collections worldwide.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Toni Zuccheri lighting, decorative objects and serveware.

Archimede Seguso redefined a 650-year family history of Murano glass-making with brilliance and novel techniques, elevating him to an exemplar for the maestros of his time as well as for future generations of glassmakers. This next generation included his sons and grandsons, who carried on and further expanded the family legacy of Venetian art glass. The survival and revival of traditional glassblowing combined with unique design are the legacies left behind by a master.

Seguso grew up in the family furnaces of the Soffieria Barovier Seguso and Ferro, where his training began at age 11. By the time he turned 20, he was a maestro in his own right, joining the family business as a partner.

In 1933 the company changed its name to Seguso Vetri D’Arte, and Seguso gained sole control. He collaborated with designers Flavio Poli and Vittorio Zecchin, which allowed him to achieve artistic sovereignty leading to the opening in 1946 of his own furnace, Vetreria Seguso Archimede. There, he could explore his design ideas with creative freedom. In 2007, the 23rd generation of Seguso glassmakers took the lead at Seguso Vetri D’Arte. Brothers Gianluca, Pierpaolo and Gianandrea Seguso carry a six-century dynasty of Seguso glass into the 21st century.

Archimede Seguso’s art glass pays homage to tradition. Seguso studied and mastered techniques from centuries past, but he also pioneered innovative approaches, such as submersion and unconventional color constitutions. He awarded future generations with stunning and unprecedented effects, such as ribbed textures, rings, needle shapes and the appearance of embedded objects.

A lifetime of achievement created by Seguso is honored in museums worldwide, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, MoMA in New York and Museum Kunstpalast in Dusseldorf, to name a few. His exhibit resume spans decades, beginning with XX Biennale, Venezia, in 1936. It includes a 1989 exhibit of “Il Maestro dei Maestri” at Tiffany Co., New York, and 2013 exhibitions at Musée Maillol in Paris and Museo della Basilica di San Marco in Venice.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Archimede Seguso glass, decorative objects, lighting and mirrors alongside a collection from his brother Angelo Seguso and his grandsons’ firm Seguso Viro.