Murano Crawling Snail Figurine

From the Murano studio of artisans circa 1970 comes this large, stunning, art glass snail figurine, which is a wonderfully hand-blown sculpture. The shell of the snail has layers of spiral white and brownish stripes encased within the outer clear glass. The base color of the head and tail is a gorgeous, translucent apple red. Not only massive in size but also heavy in weight, this snail figurine could easily function as a desk paperweight.

This art glass sculpture is in great vintage condition, with only a tiny chip noticeable at its base.

This snail figurine would make for a lovely housewarming gift or one for a special occasion, such as a birthday, anniversary or holiday. For those who collect art glass, Mid-Century glass, or Murano glass specifically, this superb glass sculpture will add value to such collections.

Murano glass is made on the Venetian island of Murano, which has specialized in fancy glassware for centuries. Murano’s glassmakers led Europe for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (known as smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass. Today, the artisans of Murano are still employing these centuries-old techniques, crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass figurines to Murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers, as well as tourist souvenirs.

Murano is home to a vast number of factories and a few individual artists’ studios making all manner of glass objects from mass-marketed stemware to original sculpture. The Museo del Vetro (or, Glass Museum) in the Palazzo Giustinian houses displays about the history of glassmaking as well as glass samples ranging from the Ancient Egyptian era through the present day.