Richly-colored blown glass in the Bohemian taste, ornamented with cutting and engraving, attracted the American public beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. This whiskey decanter (from the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company), in a shape typical of the 1860s and 1870s, is distinguished by its brilliant faceting and detailed depiction of fruit, revealing the skill of the engraver, George Franklin Lapham . As a testament to its quality, Lapham signed and dated the work.
Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
A dramatic evocation of a downpour at nightfall, a convergence of nature and the urban world, New York Night is an installation of 120 hand-blown crystal pendants majestically cascades 90 feet through a six-story staircase, engaging the viewer in an ever-changing pattern of expansion and compression, much like the rhythm of a rain storm itself.
Symbols of speed and good fortune, Dolphins swim down the sides of this ocean-colored vase (1866–70s) from Salviati & Co. John Ruskin’s Stones of Venice created a wave of enthusiasm for the lost art of cristallo. Published from 1851 to 1853, Ruskin’s book proved a stroke of good luck for Venetians seeking to revive old glassblowing techniques.
Installation View
Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
Foscarini, a leading Italian design and manufacturing company that produces masterful and innovative decorative lighting, is one of my favorite showrooms to visit in NYC’s SoHo design district. The company was founded in 1981 on the famous glass-blowing island of Murano in Venice, Italy, and their award-winning and iconic designs are the results of passionate collaboration with world-class designers. To create light is the central vision of each Foscarini project, never losing sight of the connection between the form and the function of illumination.
One of my favorite designs of theirs is the Lumiere Table Lamp, which was created for Foscarini by Milanese architect and designer Rodolfo Dordoni. The Lumiere has an elegant gradation of tones in the glossy finish of its blown glass shade contrasted with the finish of the characteristic tripod base. This light is both beautiful and beautifully crafted. It has a elegant look and emits a soft light. Each of the elements, the glass shade and the metal stand, are well made and have a nice weight — which, with a table lamp, is a desirable. This is a classic lamp that will complement the decor of virtually any room. The blown glass shade comes in your choice of colors that include Polished Cherry (shown), Polished Turquoise and Warm White, with metal-base finishes of Champagne (shown), Aluminum, and Black Chrome. The Lumierecomes in small and large sizes, with this small size lamp retailing for $727.00.
If you’ve been paying attention at all, you know by now that the Pink Thing of The Day posts every Friday, with no exceptions. So why, you may wonder, am I posting Pink Things on a Thursday? Well, it is certainly because tomorrow is Christmas, and I have something even better than these assorted Pink Tabletop Christmas Tree Decorations waiting for you this Friday! You’ll see what I mean tomorrow!
Photographed at the New York Now Home and Gift Show at Javits Center in 2019.
