MARIO D’ALPAOS
Engravings and Decoration – La S.A.L.I.R.
(Studio Ars Labor Industrie Riunite)
The “laboratorio” – workshop – has been established in 1923 by Mario’s father and friends.
He stresses that he was trained on the job by his father and had a famous teacher in Franz Pelzel (1900–1974) but also finished his education at the “Instituto d’Arte” as Maestro of Arte and Design.
Engravings made by the firm were always drawn from motifs of either former centuries or contemporary artists. Objects and mirrors, drinking glasses and other tableware were engraved or decorated by them. The business was always based on a model of a craft workshop that took the respective objects from the various maestri of the glass industry on Murano.
Very famous designers like Vittorio Zecchin (1878–1947) or Balsamo Stella (1882–1941) were among them. There is a register well maintained to keep record of the different orders accomplished. Mario and his late business partner Luigi Toso have closed the operation due partly because of age and partly because of the lack of successors – their children have chosen different professions, in fact outside the glass business. He observes a general absence of interest in the business
within the young generation. There is a very important point he makes, namely the lack of support of any of the official institutions for the glass production business on Murano, namely the municipality or the museum.
The situation is very regrettable.
But they have continued selling their objects from stock which might be discontinued any time…
