Cipolla pendant lamp

designed by Massimo Vignelli for Venini Murano

Italy, c 1960s

blown glass

19 ⅞” h x 18 ⅝” w x 18 ⅝” d

Sommerso ("submerged" in Italian), or "sunken glasses", is a form of artistic Murano glass that has layers of contrasting colors (typically two), which are formed by dipping a gather of colored glass into another molten glass and then blowing the gather into the desired shape; the outermost layer, or casing, is often clear. Sommerso was developed in Murano during the late 1930’s.