Salviati & Co

SALVIATI & CO. Murano, Venice, late nineteenth century.
Pair of vases.
Blown chalcedony glass with fine gold inclusions.
Measurements: 32 cm (height) x 18 cm (largest diameter).
This pair of vases has been entirely made in Venetian glass of blue tones. Its surface has a certain watery appearance, and is sprinkled with aventurine or gold dust. They have a globular belly and a wider neck in the middle, like a spinal bulb.
A lawyer by profession, in 1866 they formed a partnership with Austen Henry Layard, the archaeologist who discovered Nineveh, with whom they formed the company Società Salviati e Compagni, based in Venice.
The Salviati company won several important commissions, such as the mosaics of the back of the high altar of Westminster Abbey (1867), the ceiling of the Albert Memorial Chapel in Windsor Castle and the Palatine Chapel in Aachen (1870-1875). In 1876 he separated from his English partners and founded a new company which, in addition to mosaics, produced ornamental and table glass in a high-quality Renaissance style. In the 1870s he also produced pieces in imitation of ancient Roman glass. His company competed in all the universal exhibitions of the late nineteenth century.