Ware & regional marks
Seguso signature is associated with art glass and vases from Murano, Venice, Italy. Seguso signature includes dated examples from 1933–1989.
Selected modern furnace histories begin 1933; Archimede’s independent furnace began 1946. Family glassmaking is older. Later corporate changes and brand revival prevent one common end date.
Vetreria Barovier Seguso & Ferro
c. 1933–1935
Round scalloped paper label retains the three-part predecessor company name.
printed paper label · Glass; applied paper or foil where noted · Murano, Venice, Italy
Seguso Vetri d’Arte
c. 1946–1949
Early paper label with the full Vetri d’Arte name.
printed paper label · Glass; applied paper or foil where noted · Murano, Venice, Italy
c. 1950–1959
label · red and silver · glass · Italy
Metallic red-on-silver label.
c. 1950–1989
label · red and gold · glass · Italy
Scalloped foil export label used exclusively on Archimede Seguso glassware; use in the 1950s–1980s is tentative.
c. 1950–1989
Export label thought to have been used from the 1950s through the 1980s.
label · red and silver (possibly worn gold) · glass · Italy
Export foil label used exclusively on Archimede Seguso glassware; the pale part is described as silver or worn gold.
c. From 1950
Thought to have been used from the 1950s by the Venice shop at 711 Mercerie San Zulian.
label · red and gold · glass · Italy
Label of Archimede Seguso’s Venice shop or gallery at 711 Mercerie San Zulian.
Vetraria Archimede Seguso
c. From 1955
Scalloped red-and-gold oval names Archimede explicitly.
printed foil label · Glass; applied paper or foil where noted · Murano, Venice, Italy
Seguso Vetri d’Arte
c. From 1963
Black-outlined shield form differs from the earlier paper label.
printed paper label · Glass; applied paper or foil where noted · Murano, Venice, Italy
c. From 1980
label · red and gold · glass · Italy
Oval foil label introduced in the 1980s.
c. From 1990
Probably used from the 1990s onwards.
label · glass · Italy
Clear plastic label.
Undated
Thought to have been used in the 1950s and possibly earlier.
label · red and gold · glass · Italy
Circular scalloped foil export label used exclusively on Archimede Seguso glassware.
Undated
The illustrated signature is dated 1952; this is not a stated mark-use interval.
incised · glass · Italy
diamond-point (dated )
Vetraria Archimede Seguso
Undated
Full first name in engraved script, rather than Seguso alone.
engraved signature · Glass; applied paper or foil where noted · Murano, Venice, Italy
The Seguso name belongs to a Murano glassmaking family and several distinct businesses. In 1933 Antonio Seguso, his sons Archimede and Ernesto, Napoleone Barovier and Luigi Ferro formally established the company initially called Artistica Soffiera Vetreria-Barovier Seguso Ferro. Flavio Poli joined in 1934. The firm became known as Seguso Vetri d’Arte, producing decorative vessels, lighting and sculptural glass for Italian and international markets.
Poli’s designs developed the use of superimposed colored and clear glass layers, associated with the sommerso technique. The firm’s postwar work entered major museum collections, and a blue-and-ruby vase won the Compasso d’Oro in 1954. Mario Pinzoni later succeeded Poli as artistic director. Changes in partnerships and ownership accompanied the changing designs, so the business history cannot be reduced to one uninterrupted company name.
Archimede left the family enterprise in 1942 and established his own furnace in 1946. His independent work included elaborate filigree effects, notably the merletto pieces shown at the 1952 Venice Biennale, as well as sculpture and other vessels. Glass marked Archimede Seguso must be distinguished from Seguso Vetri d’Arte. The latter brand was sold in 1972 and returned to the Seguso family in 2008.
Also known as: Barovier Seguso & Ferro · Seguso Murano · Seguso Vetri d’Arte and Vetraria Archimede Seguso
Another Murano furnace making complex colored glass. Read Venini’s own name in the mark rather than attributing all sommerso or filigree glass to Seguso.
A separate glassworks with related early personnel and overlapping techniques. The full company name on a label distinguishes it from Barovier Seguso & Ferro and later Seguso businesses.
