GENOA, Italy — Two distinctly different pieces of glass designed by Dino Martens (1894-1970) led the April 23 sale at Aste di Antiquariato Boetto. Both dated from the early 1950s, when Martens was working as artistic director for Venetian glassworks Aureliano Toso. Complete results for the Design, Murano glass and A.Ve.M Glass sale are available at LiveAuctioneers.
An 11.5in (29cm) perforated vase from the Oriente range hammered for €16,500 ($17,580, or $22,325 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of €4,500-€5,000 ($4,800-$5,300). The result of many experiments in which Martens strived to blur the borders between painting and blown glass, the Oriente technique, which was exhibited for the first time at the 1952 Biennale, was achieved by rolling a clear cylinder of glass over colorful flat patterns comprising ground glass and aventurine, glass canes, and latticino glass squares. Martens’ great talent was to combine traditional Muranese techniques with daring asymmetric shapes.
Sold to a LiveAuctioneers bidder at €21,000 ($22,375, or $28,420 with buyer’s premium), this time against a €3,000-€3,400 ($3,200-$3,600) estimate, was an 8in (20cm) Sommerso vase from 1954, one that effectively ‘submerged’ a vessel fashioned with polychrome cane decoration within a clear crystal casing. The finished surface of the vase, which was cut with wavy vertical lines, represented several hours of highly skilled grinding. The range was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1954.
