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Seguso Vetri d'Arte
Industry	Glassmaking
Founded	1932
Headquarters	Fondamenta Venier 29, Murano Venice, Italy
Key people	Gianluca Seguso (CEO); Pierpaolo Seguso (Creative Director); Gianandrea Seguso (Sales and Business Development);
Products	Lighting; Furniture; Objects;
Website	www.segusovetridarte.com

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Seguso Vetri d’Arte founded between 1932 and 1933, was the leading Murano glass factory and the center of creative energy and technical innovation on the island of Murano during the mid twentieth century, winning the most prestigious design awards of the time^[1]. Today, Seguso CEO, Gianluca Seguso, manages the company, while his brother, Pierpaolo Seguso, heads the creative direction, and Gianandrea Seguso follows sales, maintaining a glassmaking tradition that can be traced back to 1397^[2]. The iconic and timeless designs of Seguso Vetri d’Arte continue to be sold throughout the word^[3].

Family

Seguso is the oldest Muranese family still active today on the island of Murano, able to trace an uninterrupted lineage of glassmakers, artists and entrepreneurs back to 1397 over 23 generations^[4]. The inscription of the Seguso family into the Libro d’Oro of Murano in 1605 ^[5] solidified their reputation as one of the most important Venetian glassmaking families on the island^[6]. Following the fall of the Venetian Republic, members of the Seguso family played an important role in preserving the Murano glass industry and reviving forgotten glass techniques, contributing to the rebirth of Murano glassmaking at the start of the twentieth century^[7], and thus laying the foundation for the beginning of Seguso Vetri d’Arte, which today is guided by the 23rd generation of the Seguso family^[8].

Antonio - Toni Patare
(1888/1965)

Ernesto
(1904/1986)

Bruno
(1915/2001)

Archimede
(1909/1999)

Isidoro
(1918/1981)

Angelo
(1921/2005)

Giampaolo
(1942)

GianAndrea
(1976) – Sales and Business Development

Pierpaolo
(1974) – Creative Director

Gianluca
(1971) – CEO

MariaGiulia
(1981)

History

The beginning (prior to 1945)

The early twentieth century revival of Murano glass was halted by World War I from 1914-1919 and then just ten years later was again slowed by the financial crisis that began with the Wall Street Crash of 1929. ^[9] These difficult times forced a partnership made up of several Murano glassmakers, including Antonio Seguso, to abandon their shares in the larger glass company, Vetreria Artistica Barovier, founded in 1919, and seek refuge by working in smaller glassworks. In 1933, after the contract that bound Antonio Seguso and partners to Vetreria Artistica Barovier was dissolved, he, along with his sons Archimede and Ernesto, Napoleone Barovier and Luigi Ferro founded Artistica soffiera e vetreria Barovier, Seguso and Ferro and produced for retails stores such as Salviati and Pauly & C. ^[10] The direction of the business began to change when Flavio Poli, an accomplished artist, became artistic director in 1934, bringing a cosmopolitan attitude and the ability to look beyond the boundaries of Murano. Poli’s new outlook caused the glass company to participate in several international events, which brought new clients and custom design commissions. ^[11] By 1937, the improvements that were necessary from this growth also required increased investment. At this time Luigi Ferro left the partnership and the company name was changed to Seguso Vetri d’arte. ^[12] The second half of the 1930’s was a period of great prosperity, during which a network of agents was established, covering all of Italy, several European countries and some overseas locations. This period was noted for successful participation in international expositions, as well as innovative designs by Flavio Poli, glassmaking techniques invented by Archimede Seguso, new colors such as Verde Nord or Nordic Green, a transparent green color that became one of the most iconic shades of Seguso Vetri d’arte, ^[13] and the start of prestigious commissions such as the table service in clear and gold glass for the wedding table of the Duke of Spoleto and Irene of Greece^[14]. However, by 1940 the loss of markets due to the imminent start of World War II greatly reduced the production of glass objects, but the factory was able to survive from large, fascist architecture lighting projects. ^[15] In 1944, Archimede Seguso officially left Seguso Vetri d’arte due to health problems, and the developments of World War II brought and end to this prosperous period.

1945 to 1969

Post war Italy had many new regulations and taxes, which nearly tripled costs and limited export, making it difficult to pick up where the distribution of Seguso Vetri d'arte left off prior to the war ^[16]. Since sales were forced to focus on a more national market, an outlet store was established in Milan in 1946^[17]. By 1947 and 1948 Seguso Vetri d'arte gained momentum by re-starting their participation in international events, with the two most important being the Triennale di Milano in 1947 and the Biennale di Venezia in 1948^[18]. It is also in 1948, that the Museum of Modern Art acquired six vases designed by Flavio Poli for its permanent collection^[19]. By the 1950's Seguso Vetri d'arte again became dominant in Murano from a business and design perspective. This financially secure period allowed Flavio Poli to experiment with techniques, such as sommerso (for which he became renowned for), siderale and incalmo, as well as explore new methods and colors^[20]. In 1954 the Milanese department store La Rinascente established one of the first industrial design awards, the Compasso d'oro. Flavio Poli's large sommerso vase in blue and ruby glass won the award, and the entire blu - rubino series was awarded a diploma di gran premio^[21]. The sommersi vases became representative of the company and were constantly selected for exhibitions and museum collections, with the Victoria and Albert Museum acquiring two sommerso objects in 1955^[22]. The early 1960's saw the departure of Flavio Poli due to artistic differences. Despite increasing regulations on business, Seguso Vetri d'arte was able to sustain itself due to several large scale projects and lighting orders such as the residence of Maurice Yameogo, President of French Upper Volta in Africa, the Museo Correr in Venice, the Iranian Embassy in Rome, the casino at San Remo, and the Claridge Hotel in Buenos Aires^[23]. Eventually by the late 1960's despite participation in trade fairs and large projects, the high production costs and importation taxes combined with a very competitive marked continued to make it hard for the business to be profitable. These difficulties led many members of the Seguso family to eventually withdraw their shares, ultimately leaving Angelo Seguso as the head of the company by 1969^[24].

1970 to 2000's

The global oil crisis and turbulent decade of the 1970’s did not do much to help the already declining financial situation of Seguso Vetri d’arte. Angelo Seguso, who was first and foremost a glassmaster, decided to sell the company in 1972 to some employees who after a few years sold it to Cenedese^[25].

2007 - Present Time

In 2007 Gianluca Seguso, CEO of Seguso, entered an agreement to purchase Seguso Vetri d’arte from Cenedese. The purchase was finalized in 2009 ^[26] and brought Seguso Vetri d’arte back into the hands of the Seguso family for the first time in nearly 30 years. The acquisition granted them the brand trademark, products and archives ^[27]. At the time of the acquisition, Giampaolo Seguso notably said, “the Seguso family has come home.”^[28] Seguso Vetri d’arte continues to produce its iconic designs and new designs at the Seguso headquarters in Murano located at Fondamenta Radi^[29].

Design

Products

text

Exhibition