Jessica Vincent, a polo pony trainer based on a farm near Richmond, Virginia, "struck gold" as she shopped in a local Goodwill store when she unknowingly crossed paths with a rare artisan vase made by acclaimed Italian designer Carlo Scarpa.
This exquisite glassware, also known as the "Pennellate Vase" or the "Model 3664," was originally bought by Vincent for an incredible bargain of only $4, and recently, it went up the block in a Wright Auction House sale in New York with an estimated price of $30,000 to $50,000. In the end, it was sold for $107,000, over two-fold the original high estimate.
In a conversation with Artnet, auction house founder Richard Wright shared his sentiments on this "amazing story" of how such a precious piece of glasswork ended up in Virginia, saying, "It was expensive, not mass-produced, and it falls through the cracks all the way down to the Goodwill."
Wright continued expressing his astonishment, saying that the piece itself was in an amazingly pristine condition despite its mysterious journey. He added that the story's charm is in huge part thanks to Vincent, who he praised for being "smart enough to do her [own] research."
According to Wright, Vincent found out about the piece's potential worth in an Italian Facebook group that discusses glasswork, when members of the said group first offered her $10,000 for the vase, which she was "smart enough" not to accept.
About the Rare Venini 'Pennellate Vase' and Its Creator, Carlo Scarpa
Measuring about 13 and a half inches high, the vase is believed to have been made in 1947. It is made from an opaquely transparent glass material, fashioned in a way that mimics brushstrokes across its surface, a reference to its name of "pennellate" which is Italian for "brushstroke."
Although Scarpa himself was the designer of the sought-after piece, it was the Italian art glass maker Venini, based on the Venetian island of Murano, who manufactured it.
In their online auction listing for the piece, Wright Auction House said that the vase was a piece of incredibly high rarity, especially within the house's decade-spanning history of auctions. There is only one other known piece that is identical to this vessel and it is currently secured by an established private collector.
In terms of the most expensive Scarpa piece sold, that honor belongs to another Venini-made glassware, the "Laccati Neri e Rossi" dated 1940, which sold for an astounding $309,000 at a Christie's auction in Paris, last 2012. This sale, similar to the Wright Auction House sale, also soared past its original estimation, with this particular piece initially evaluated at $64,000.
The market's high regard for Scarpa's works makes sense when put within the context of his renown. With a background in architecture, the Italian designer gained international notoriety for his structural renovations and designs for both glassware and buildings.
Recently, his fame has reached new heights, as he was featured in an exhibition held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art that ran from 2013 to 2014. The showcase was dubbed "Venini Glass by Carlo Scarpa: The Venini Company, 1932-1947," which comprises collaborative works between Scarpa and Venini.
In The Met's online report on the exhibition, the museum explained that Scarpa "redefined the parameters of glassblowing in terms of aesthetics and technical innovation." The institution added that Scarpa also pioneered "techniques, silhouettes, and colors that thoroughly modernized the ancient tradition of glassblowing."
