Description
This spectacularly large mid-century Murano chandelier is a commanding statement piece of lighting art, attributed to the legendary master glassmaker Ercole Barovier for Barovier & Toso. Evoking the pinnacle of post-war Italian elegance, this grand-scale fixture was engineered to command attention in expansive interiors, offering a perfect bridge between Old World craftsmanship and contemporary luxury.
The centerpiece of the chandelier is its monumental blown-glass bowl crafted in Barovier’s celebrated rugiada (dew glass) technique — an extraordinary method invented and patented by Barovier himself. During the hot-glass process, the incandescent bowl was rolled in a bed of minute crushed clear glass grit (graniglia), which fused into the surface and created tiny stable fractures during cooling. The result is a heavily textured, ice-like finish that behaves as a prism, catching and scattering light to mimic the shimmer of morning dew — a finish highly prized by collectors of elite mid-century lighting art.
Rising from the central bowl is an architectural frame supporting a balanced arrangement of thick, hand-blown cristallo glass arms, each deeply ribbed with Barovier’s signature rigaree tooling. These sculptural arms curve gracefully upward and outward, terminating in elegant scrolled loops that frame the glowing bowl and create a sense of theatrical grandeur. The internal light source radiates through both the rugiada bowl and the ribbed arms, producing a warm, multifaceted glow.
Dimensions without ceiling cover and chain: H=31 in. W=32 in. D=32 in. 33 lbs. Requires a canopy and chain, which is not included.
