"Bruno Ava" Amber Art Glass Madonna / Labeled Arte Murano ICET Venezuela/Circa 20th Century

I found this in the display case at Salvation Army this morning. While I'm not big into religious art, when I saw the "arte Murano" on the label I wanted it. Had I worn my glasses and looked at it a little closer I would have also seen the "Heche en Venezuela" on the bottom half of the label. So it's not "bona fide" Murano but the little bit of history I found about this company shows that Bruno Ava is holding true to the quality and techniques he observed and learned in Italy. The figure is 13 1/2 " tall and really is very nice. It's primarily an amber color with a white band running through the middle. There is a pebble texture to the halo and the face has a bit of detail. The very slender form sits on what is basically a paperweight sphere. It bears the gold foil ICET label on the base. -Mike-

ICET Arte Murano History:
Courtesy of Fossilfly and Ebay

Arte Murano ICET was founded by Bruno Ava in 1957. He traveled from Italy to Venezuela and built his factory there. All raw materials used in making the glass are imported from Italy except for the sand. The glass is entirely handmade and in the "Murano" style. Glassworks in the Murano style are still very rare outside of Italy. Jessie McNab, associate curator in the department of European sculpture and decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, says that Icet Arte is the only factory that she's heard of producing this glass in the Western Hemisphere.
Bruno Ava came to Venezuela from Italy 30 years ago, ''looking,'' he says, ''for new horizons.'' He married an Italian woman living in Venezuela and, ''because it is cooler in the mountains,'' built his factory in Potrerito. He started the Icet Arte Murano with a dozen craftsmen, two of whom still work with him, and today he employs 70 to 80 people.