Italy, 1960s. The glassmakers of Murano play with smoked colours and varying thicknesses of glass to create vases of great depth. This model by the house of V. Umhuya & C. is a very fine example.

The body, in smoked amber glass, has an hourglass silhouette: flared neck, pronounced waist, then a curve that thickens towards the base. The foot, in thick honey-coloured glass, encases a mass of near-black brown, in the sommerso technique that gives the vase its depth. The original “V. Umhuya & C. Murano Italy” label is preserved.

At 23.5 cm high by 8.5 cm in diameter, this vase sits on a console, sideboard or shelf, alone or filled with a few stems.