Vase 52 cm

The project, Lanterne Marine, produced a confluence of design themes that Barber & Osgerby had been experimenting with in their work. The project combined explorations of detailed handcraft with engineering; it expanded on their long-standing interest in nautical design, and finally, their fascination with colour composition.

The idea was to create a series of forms that in some way involved the layering and stacking of the famous Venini colours to create new, almost modular compositions. Large vases were designed that could support flower stems and also stand alone as striking sculptural pieces. Each modular glass base and top was blown in a range of special Venini colours, the recipes for which are known only to one man at the factory. The bases hold the open, calyx-like tops that are intended to enclose the water and flower stems.