Hi Louisa,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

This oversize perfume-bottle style decanter is quite amazing!

As you are probably aware, there were several Cenedese family members who were highly skilled and prolific but several elements point to this having been made by Gino Cenedese (1907-1973). According to "Glass of Venice", By the end of the second World War in 1946, he founded the Gino Cenedese & C. glassworks, which immediately gained international recognition thanks to the high quality and refined style engraved in every piece. Although Cenedese opened this glass factory with important partners by his side (Angelo Tosi, Alfredo Barbini, Gino Fort and Pietro Scaramal), he was left as its sole owner by 1949, taking the factory through the twentieth century with vision and commitment.

Throughout the years, Gino Cenedese has had important collaborations with other Venetian masters and artists that have marked different periods in the company’s history. During the 1950’s, sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi created a series of female figures in bas-relief glass panels that now embellish the company’s showrooms; while it was painter Luigi Scarpa Croce who helped develop their now famous Sommerso technique, where each colorful glass layer is submerged into another, creating beautiful effects.

It was around this time that Cenedese also collaborated with another important designer, Fulvio Bianconi, who exposed the company’s artworks at the Venice Biennale in 1954. By the end of the 1960’s, artist Harold Stevenson took inspiration from the Venetian Lagoon and worked on several sculptures that reflected the beauty and diversity of the Venetian canals. Since the early 1970’s, the company held important collaborations with Venetian artist Antonio da Ross, expanding the possibilities of using glassware as valuable pieces of art, and focusing on submerged glass techniques such as the “Contrappunti”.

The beauty and mystery of nature is another recurrent theme in the Cenedese series. The Galassia (or Galaxy) collection possesses some of the company’s most valuable pieces. The mastery with which the Canne and Sommerso techniques are used gives these impressive vases an invaluable artistic importance. A complete opposite to the vibrant Galassia vases, the Nettuno series mix different shades of blue in a “submerged” spiral inside each piece, transmitting all the calmness and tranquility of a gentle sea.

“Scavo” (from the Italian vetro scavato, “excavated glass”) is a surface treatment developed on Murano in the 20th century to imitate the look of archaeological glass. It demonstrates a higher-level of design integration along with the finish where it features a more controlled patina.

The Gino Cenedese & Son Murano glass company pays respect to Murano’s ancient glass making traditions by handcrafting every piece with skill and mastery, innovating every design with clever imagination. Today, the Cenedese house works under the guidance of another historical representative of Murano glass, the Seguso, now owners of Ars Cenedese Murano.

This piece would, I'm sure, have retailed for a fairly substantial sum when it was purchased in Murano. At auction, this would probably perform within an estimate of $800-1,200.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

A near vintage oversize Cenedese Scavo decanter
Murano, late 20th Century
Of circular section, with pointed ovoid stopper, the cylindrical bottle with colorful scavo decoration, signed.
25 inches overall height
CONDITION: this appears to be in good condition
PROVENANCE: inherited
$800-1,200*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia