Sevres - Vase - Glass - Giuseppe Cappa Collection

Cristallerie de Sèvres – Multilayer glass basket with a twisted crystal handle and gold decoration. Around 1878–1885. From the Giuseppe Cappa collection.

Exceptional piece from the Cristallerie de Sèvres, datable to around 1878–1885, with a distinguished collector’s and bibliographic pedigree: it belonged to the private collection of Giuseppe Cappa and is the very specimen reproduced on page 438 of his renowned reference work “L’Art verrier,” identified with no. 793. The piece comes from a Giuseppe Cappa collection auction, a circumstance that reinforces its historical and documentary interest. A certificate from the auction house attesting to the provenance will accompany the item. The auction sticker has been removed.

With an elegant ovoid profile and wavy edge, it features a body of multilayer glass, blown and tool-worked, with mottled effects in reddish-brown and ivory tones, enriched by a under-layer aventurine treatment. The ensemble is completed by an colorless crystal handle that is twisted and applied hot, and an elaborated raised gold relief decoration, chased, contrasting with the marble-like surface of the glass.

The match between the offered piece and the specimen published in L’Art verrier is its main distinctive feature: this is not merely a piece attributed to the Cristallerie de Sèvres, but a object with documented presence in Giuseppe Cappa’s collection and in a reference publication for the study of European artistic glass. A singular opportunity for collectors of historic glass, for late 19th-century French production, and for pieces with verifiable bibliographic provenance.

Technical sheet

Manufacture: Cristallerie de Sèvres, attributed.
Dating: around 1878–1885.
Type: decorative basket or basket.
Material: multilayer glass and colorless crystal.
Techniques: blown glass and tool-work; mottling and aventuring under the surface layer; hot-applied twisted handle; raised relief decoration in chased gold.
Dimensions: height 24 cm; diameter 17 cm.
Provenance: Giuseppe Cappa private collection; acquired at auction from said collection.
Bibliographic reference: Giuseppe Cappa, L’Art verrier, p. 438, no. 793.
Condition: excellent.