D and I chanced upon this beautiful pair of seppie when visiting Pauly & C.’s administrative office on the island of Murano. It was the first rose-colored acquario we had ever seen from Barbini, so we were initially unsure how it would look next to our collection.

Luisa who was our lovely host knew us better. “Let’s try this angle”, she took the heavy glass block and placed it on the window ledge overlooking the waterway. Under the bright afternoon sun, the seppie suddenly came alive with shimmering rainbow hues.

Up to today I could still vividly remember that moment in time when I was mesmerized by the unexpected change.

Front view

Back view

Right side view

Left side view

Front view (close-up)

Information on this piece.

Artist: Alfredo Barbini

Series: Acquario / Aquarium

Edition: 1/1

Year: 1975

Dimension: 21.1 x 24.9 x 8.8 (cm)

Signed ‘A. Barbini Murano’ (left side)

Photo-certificate of authenticity from Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (Italy)

D and I are in love with Alfredo Barbini’s clear jellyfishes ever since we saw a magnificent glass block in Murano island some years ago. So when we first spotted this lovely sculpture in Pauly San Marco, our immediate thought was to ask for some meduse.

Strangely over the next couple of days in Venice, our minds kept wandering back to this pair of gold speckled cuttlefishes. We watched seppie being delivered to restaurants in the morning and ordered grilled seppie in the evening. Finally, we admitted to ourselves that we must take the plunge.

Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates.

Front view

Back view

Right side view

Left side view

Front view (close-up)

Information on this piece.

Artist: Alfredo Barbini

Series: Acquario / Aquarium

Edition: 1/1

Year: 1980

Dimension: 23.2 x 23.7 x 7.5 (cm)

Signed ‘A. Barbini’ (right side)

Photo-certificate of authenticity from Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (Italy)