Enlightening Uniqueness
Barovier & Toso can actually trace their beginnings back over 700 years. Founded in 1295, they are among the oldest companies in the world, unsurpassed in all their credentials and awards. Many members of the family have been awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro Knight of Labor by the Italian government. In the field of decorative manufacturing as well as spectacular chandeliers and lighting fixtures, the quality of their glass art is unsurpassed. LightCouture is proud to represent Barovier & Toso and, true to our philosophy, to be able to work with them on individual custom designs as well as with exhibits from their historic collection and from current collections. The history of Murano glass art is strictly connected to the Parodier family.
The Venetian Crystal
The Barovier family leads the oldest glass production in the world; traces of their activity in artistic glass production date back to the 13th century. A very important representative of this family was Angelo Barovier (1405-1460), an artistic master of the Italian Renaissance, whose role in the history of Murano glass can be compared to Leonardo's and Michelangelo's contribution to painting and sculpture. It was Angelo who discovered the so-called "Venetian crystal". One of his nephews, Anzoletto, was also very famous in the 16th century, in the period when the Baroviers expanded the number of factories to three. During the 17th century, the Toso family began its artistic production of Murano glass and some of its members soon became known as skilled glass artists.
