Six different pieces of glass from the Decorative Arts Collection are arranged on this plinth. The first three are vases and small bottles from north-eastern Persia, made between the 7th and 10th centuries. They are among 14 objects bought by the Frankfurt dealer Saeed Motamed between 1956 and 1962. Motamed, who was of Iranian origin, traded mainly in art and antiquities from what is now Iran.
The two objects at the back were made in the Venetian glassworks 'Venini' on the island of Murano, north of Venice. Glass art has been produced here since the Middle Ages. Objects made of Murano glass experienced their heyday between 1920 and 1970. The Venini glass company, founded in 1921 by the Milanese lawyer Paolo Venini and the art dealer Giacomo Cappellin, combined the traditional craftsmanship of the Murano glassworks with innovative shapes and designs. The mosaic vase was designed by Fulvio Bianconi in 1950. The design is also known as the "spotted harlequin" and was exhibited at the Milan Triennale and the Venice Biennale immediately after its creation. It is mouth-blown and composed of different coloured glass elements. The large fishbowl was designed by Paolo Venini himself in 1956. The so-called Zanfirico bottle is made of spiral milk glass rods with a net of threads stretched between them. Venini thus took a traditional technique and used it for his innovative designs. Little is known about the smaller blue vase. It is possible that it was also made of Venetian Murano glass.
