It is thought that glass beads, the earliest known form of glass, were accidently created by metalworkers some five thousand years ago in the area stretching from Egypt to Syria. The slow, laborious methods of creating glass objects made them rare and expensive. Then about two thousand years ago, craftsmen in Jerusalem discovered that blowing air through a hollow tube into molten glass could shape vessels in minutes. The Roman Empire quickly adopted the technique, using molds and free-blowing to mass-produce cheap everyday items like bottles and jars across the Mediterranean and then much of the rest of the world.
This exceptionally charming little vintage, hand-blown and hand-painted glass perfume bottle has an aura about it that is both fanciful and playful. The depiction of the sun with its rays emanating from the face together with the striking red color detail of the red top makes this piece irresistible.
In some ways, this sun reminds me of much earlier Italian motifs. It also seems to have roots in the depiction of the sun in tarot cards that depict large, bright suns with smiling faces, symbolizing the warmth and source of all life.
I also believe this work is reminiscent of some of the work of Pablo Picasso, many of whose works featured similar suns. In fact, one of the most famous of the painter’s quotes is: “There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.\" (I take his meaning to be that it takes an artist of great skill and artistic intelligence to use simple strokes to show life and emotion in a work of art.)
This perfume bottle was made by the firm of Parise Vetro, founded in the early 1970s in the beautiful Northern Italian walled city of Marostica. The town is equally famed for its delicious cherries and the live Chess Game that takes place every two years. The Game re-enacts the 1454 episode in which a local castle lord ordered two noblemen to fight for his daughter’s hand via a game of chess instead of a bloody duel. Marostica is about an hour’s drive from Venice, itself world-renowned for its Murano glass creations.
Parise Vetro has an international reputation for its creative designs. Its artists use borosilicate glass, which has an addition of the chemical element boron, instead of regular soda-lime glass. Boron comprises about 13 percent of this glass, which helps the glass structure hold together more tightly, but makes it more difficult to work with; thus, it requires the precision of a skilled and experienced artist.
Among the features of this little hand-blown bottle is the elongated tear-drop shape with a wide, hand-rolled glass rim that acts as part of the sculpture, combined with the hand-blown, three-tiered red glass stopper. On the bottom of the piece is the original Parise Vetro factory label stamp.
The condition is simply excellent, especially for its age and usage. I can’t imagine any collection that would not be enhanced with the addition of such a beautiful and charming piece of hand-blown glass.
It measures 4-½ inches high and 2-3/8 inches wide.
Personaland cashier’s checks also accepted.Please contact forinternational shipping rates, as well as to Alaska, Hawaii and U.S.territories.
Perry-JoyceFine Arts
Expertisein 18th and 19th Century Needlework, British Paintings, and 19thCentury Decorative Arts with over 45Years’ Experience
Related Items:
Vintage Brevettata Mod 1949 Made In Italy Collectible Piece
$130.00
Vintage Italian Micro Mosaic Brass MCM Floral Red Photo/Picture Frame ITALY Made
$149.99
1830 Soprafino Tarot 78-Card Deck - 12x7cm (4.7x2.8in) Vintage Italian History
$12.25
