What a hoot! This big art glass owl paperweight with wandering eyes brings a chuckle.
Made by hand using the Sommerso method of blowing two or more gathers of different colored glass together to form colors within colors. Sommerso means ‘submerged’ in Italian. This owl was created with two colors, dark blue and light amber. The eyes are in three layers, circles of applied blue with whites of the eyes and black pupils applied separately.
The crown, beak, eyes, feet and base were applied to the body. The backside of the body was hand-tooled to create a texture of ‘feathers’. Well-made by a talented Italian/Murano craftsman. We do not know the glass house or maker of this Great Horned Owl. During the Mid-20th Century famous Italian glass artists like Archimede Seguso and Flavio Poli created objects in Sommerso. Many of their works were made specifically for export to places like the U.S.. The ‘made for export’ items are rarely signed by the artist. J.I. Imports was an American importer of Italian/Murano glass. We believe this owl was an import item. Circa 1960’s to 1970’s.
Big shifty-eyed owl weighs 1.8 lbs and stands 6¼” tall. In perfect condition.
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