One day, while walking around Murano, I had the good luck to run into Arnoldo Toso who runs the Fratelli Toso Glass Factory on Murano. He invited me, Mike (my husband) and my friends who were with me, to come and look at his glass collection that is stored above his factory.
Arnoldo has been actively searching out art glass pieces that were made by his factory in the past and also those from other Muranese artists that he felt were important to have in his collection. He has found a lot of the pieces that he recovered in auctions that took place in different countries around Europe.
When you go to the Fratelli Toso factory, the plain entrance does not prepare you for the experience of getting to see the antique Toso glass collection. I am always dazzled by this collection of glass art and by the way that Arnoldo has it arranged. When you walk into the display area, your eyes are overwhelmed by so much fabulous glass art that is jammed together in loosely defined groups. There are tables filled with murrini vases, fabulous Venetian mirrors on the walls and outrageous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Many of the pieces are hundreds of years old, but they are generously mixed with groups of modern looking solid glass sculptures that were produced more recently, like in the 1950’s.
I have personally gotten to see this collection at least 3 times and each time Arnoldo adds a little more history to what I am looking at. The story he tells about how and for whom different projects got produced is a history lesson that is available only by word of mouth.
Seeing this collection of Muranese glass was one of the high points of my trip and I hope you enjoy the photos.
