Kavanagh Auctions - Important Glass Collection

Important Glass

A lifetime of collecting

Kavanagh Auctions | January 31st, 2026

The Collection

Kavanagh Auctions is proud to present the Murano glass collection of an important Canadian private collector whose life has been shaped by travel, curiosity, and an enduring dedication to the decorative arts. Over several decades, the collector assembled an exceptional group of Venetian glassworks, sourcing directly from European galleries, international auctions, and specialist dealers while traveling extensively throughout Italy, France, and the United States.

Rather than focusing on volume, the collection was formed with a discerning eye for design innovation, technical mastery, and historical relevance. The result is a tightly curated selection of Murano glass that spans post-war modernism through late-20th-century experimentation, anchored by works from Venini, alongside important examples attributed to Barovier & Toso and AVEM.

Complemented by select pieces of fine art glass, the collection reflects a lifelong pursuit of excellence — a collector’s dialogue with material, form, and light — now offered to a new generation of custodians.

Murano and the Art of Glass

For more than seven centuries, the island of Murano has stood at the center of the world’s glassmaking tradition. From the late Middle Ages onward, Murano’s master glassmakers developed techniques that transformed molten glass into objects of extraordinary refinement, secrecy, and prestige.

By the 20th century, Murano entered a new golden age. Historic furnaces collaborated with architects, painters, and designers, pushing glass beyond decoration into the realm of modern art. Firms such as Venini championed experimentation, embracing abstraction, bold color, and sculptural form while preserving centuries-old craftsmanship.

Today, Murano glass occupies a unique position in the collecting world — simultaneously decorative, sculptural, and historically significant. The finest examples represent not only technical virtuosity, but also the intellectual and artistic currents of their time, making them enduring cornerstones of serious international collections.

Barovier & Toso

Murano Dorico Art Glass Bowl — Blue & White

Murrine

This elegant and spirited bowl highlights the distinctive Dorico technique as realized by Barovier & Toso in the 1950s. Characterized by large blue and white murrine set into a clear or lightly tinted ground, Dorico work plays with scale and rhythm, creating bold graphic fields within a refined vessel form.

The Dorico technique — a sophisticated variant of Murano’s millefiori tradition — was developed in the mid-20th century as Venetian glassmakers responded to modern design movements that prized abstraction and pattern. The result is a vessel that is both decorative and sculptural, commanding attention whether presented alone or within a curated ensemble

Ermanno Toso (1903–1973)

for Fratelli Toso, Murano Nerox Murrine Vase

This dynamic Nerox murrine vase represents the inventive mid-century work of Ermanno Toso for the distinguished Fratelli Toso workshop. The Nerox line, developed in the post-war period, explored the expressive possibilities of murrine — colored glass canes fused and encased to create striking, organic patterns of color and depth.

Unlike traditional Murano millefiori, Nerox pieces emphasize contrast and gestural form, pairing dense dark overlays with vibrant embedded murrine to evoke a sense of movement within the glass itself. Renowned among collectors for their visual impact and technical virtuosity, Toso’s designs demonstrate Murano’s mid-20th-century shift toward sculptural, modernist expression.

Rosanna Tosi (attrib.)

Murano Art Glass Face Vase

Expressive and sculptural, this striking face vase reflects

Murano’s late-20th-century embrace of figuration and bold chromatic experimentation. Attributed to Rosanna Tosi, the work demonstrates a confident handling of form, where facial features are stylized yet emotionally resonant.

The vivid yellow glass heightens the object’s graphic impact, transforming the vase into a sculptural statement piece.

Works of this nature appeal strongly to collectors drawn to Murano’s more expressive and unconventional outputs, bridging decorative art and contemporary sculpture.

Venini

Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978)**

Corroso Vase, Ruby Red 1940s

This powerful Corroso vase represents one of the most influential moments in 20th-century Murano glass. Designed by Carlo Scarpa during his seminal collaboration with Venini, the Corroso technique emphasizes thick walls, intense coloration, and a sculptural presence that blurs the boundary between vessel and object. Scarpa’s approach was architectural: weight, proportion, and surface were treated with disciplined restraint. The rich ruby coloration further elevates the piece, demonstrating the technical precision required to control density and hue in heavy glass forms.

EARLY C.V.M. MURANO

C.V.M. (Compagnia di Venezia e Murano)

Large Early Murano Art Glass Footed Centerpiece Bowl — Seafoam Green

This distinguished centerpiece bowl, attributed to C.V.M. (Compagnia di Venezia e Murano) circa 1919, represents one of the earliest and most historically significant designs in this collection. Displayed in a translucent seafoam green and supported on an elegant footed base, the piece evokes both the grace and technical sophistication of early 20th-century Venetian glassmaking.

Pieces from C.V.M. — especially large, well-preserved examples like this — are prized for their historical resonance. They reflect a transitional era when traditional Venetian craftsmanship was rediscovered and reinterpreted for the modern collector, connecting the 19th-century glass revival with the innovations that followed in later decades.

Kavanagh Auctions | January 31st, 2026