A Caccia vase by Ercole Barovier for Barovier & Toso, Murano, 1962. The form is worked in the murrine technique — each circular cane cross-section revealing concentric rings of white and grey with dark centres, set against a smoky translucent ground. The overall effect is hypnotic at close range and quietly confident from a distance.

Barovier served as artistic director of Barovier & Toso for nearly fifty years — a tenure without parallel in the history of Murano glass. Born in 1889 into a Muranese family whose origins stretch back to the 13th century, he distinguished himself early as an experimental designer rather than a traditional glassblower. The Caccia series sits within his mature period, when his command of the mosaic and murrine techniques was absolute.