Hard to find Sabino Vase

Bio

Marius Sabino, founder of Sabino Glass company, was born in Sicily in 1878 and moved to France at the age of 4. He studied at L'Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs and the Beaux Arts de Paris, where he became particularly interested in the challenges that the advent of electricity would have on glass manufacture. It was through electric lights that Sabino came to the production of glass. In fact, on his return from the first World War (where he had joined as a volunteer), he founded a factory which manufactured traditional lights fittings of wood or bronze and then quickly changed to glass.

In 1925, Sabino required a lot of fame with his exposition at the Salon International des Arts Decoratifs de Paris. The most important items he displayed at this exposition were made of opalescent glass with a blue hue and which contained iridescent impressions of either clouds in a blue sky, light striking a soap bubble or a reflection from water surface. He designed and made special lighting for a luxury cruise ship (Ile de france) in 1927, and a lighted fountain column for the Grand Salon of Normandy in 1935.

Apart from chandeliers, he also created a multitude of vases and decorative objects, making great use of his expertise as a sculptor. In particular, busts and statues of women, and an exceptionally large range of animals with stylized features-sometimes in extraordinary large sizes. For example, in 1931 he created a large fish in a limited edition, two of which were bought by Josephine Baker and Maurice Chevalier.

He was the founder of Sabino Crystal Company, which moved to the US in the 1970s and is still selling all sorts of opalescent glass items today.