Artist/Designer: Ettore Sottsass

b. 1917 Innsbruck, Austria - 2007 Milan, Italy

Title: Sirio Vase 

Medium: Hand blown multicolored glass

Dimensions: 14"h x 6" x 5.5"

Manufacturer: Memphis/Milano 1982

Details: Signed MEMPHIS MADE IN ITALY BY TOSO VETRI D'ARTE on base. Early example of this important vase produced in 1982. This very piece traveled with the Memphis exhibition to most venues, from Memphis, Tennessee to the Cooper Hewitt in New York. It was also displayed in the Grace Designs showroom and has remained in our founder's collection. Despite its active travel schedule, its condition is truly remarkable. A vintage museum quality work, made by the original glass masters who collaborated directly with Sottsass and the Memphis designers. We have never seen a more perfect example. While in our collection, it has been featured in numerous books and catalogs.

Notes from the Archive: Murano, a tiny island near Venice, has been the historic repository of Italy's glassmaking tradition. For centuries it was closed to visitors in order to protect its legendary techniques. Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanini collaborated with Murano glassblowers to produce Memphis's first array of glass as part of the 1982 Memphis Collection. The pieces, all named for star constellations, required technical mastery far beyond their simple appearance. The hot-formed glass perfectly captures the gesture of the original drawing, yet variations in the hand technique ensure that each example is unique. Examples of Sirio are in the permanent collections of many museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

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