The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 18, 2022

Carnival Figure

1930

Giacomo Cappellin

(Italian, 1887-1968)

Italy, Venice

Glass

Overall: 24.2 x 13.4 x 11.5 cm (9 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 4 1/2 in.)

The Mary Spedding Milliken Memorial Collection, Gift of William Mathewson Milliken 1947.170

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Flecks of pure gold leaf provide the sparkle in this figure's voluminous costume.

Description

A former antiques dealer, Giacomo Cappellin joined forces with master Venetian glassblower Paolo Venini to form a glass company in Murano in 1921. Using historic techniques, Cappellin produced whimsical figures based on the carnival in Venice.

Citations
Coffin, Sarah D., and Stephen Harrison. The Jazz Age: American style in the 1920s. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2017. Reproduced: fig. 101, p. 71; Mentioned: p. 70
Barovier, Marino and Carla Sonego. The M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa: 1925-1931. Milan: Skira editore S.p.A.; New York : ARTBOOK / D.A.P., 2018. Reproduced: p. 461
Exhibition history

Venetian Decorative Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1956-January 9, 1957).

Circa 1930. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 12-October 31, 1983).

The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY (April 7-August 20, 2017); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30, 2017-January 14, 2018).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1947.170