Large Italian Murano Art Glass Red and Gold Bullicante Fish possibly Seguso

This is a stunning and highly unusual art glass fish ornament, probably Italian in origin and possibly attributable to Seguso.

The ornament is hollow in the centre and is made up of a number of layers; an inner red glass layer that is coated with a layer of gold leaf and encased in a thick layer of flint glass with two layers of bullicante (enclosed air bubbles) in a controlled formation. The glass is drawn up from the body to form the tail fin. The latter has been crimped at the edges. The other fins, mouth and eyes have been separately applied in crimped flint glass. Each eye has a central circle of blue.

The base is polished flat and unmarked.

It has a maximum height to the top of the tail of approximately 49.0cm and a maximum width of about 22.5cm.

It is in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks, although there are some wear and tear scratches and scuffs to the body and base, commensurate with the age of the piece. There are also some pieces of enclosed frit and some burst bubbles. There is a small trail of glass along one side of the face (see picture) that is a manufacturing artefact but is mentioned for the sake of completion.