Carlo Nason: The Sculptor of Murano Light

This guide is written for the trade: who Nason was, the workshops he shaped, how to recognise an original, and how to specify his pieces in a contemporary interior.

Born in Murano in 1935, Nason came from one of the island's oldest glassmaking dynasties. His father, Vincenzo Nason, founded the glassworks V. Nason & C., and Carlo grew up among the furnaces, absorbing the craft long before he formalised it. His early pieces were shown at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York at the end of the 1950s — a rare distinction for a glassmaker barely out of his apprenticeship.

In the early 1960s he made a decisive break. Rather than continue the ornate, colour-saturated Murano tradition, Nason turned toward clean, modern, often near-colourless forms — the modernist line that would make his work legible to a new generation of architects and designers.

A.V. Mazzega was founded in Murano in 1946 by Angelo Vittorio Mazzega. Under his children Lidia and Gianni Bruno, the company pivoted toward contemporary design in the 1960s — and Carlo Nason became the figure who defined that era, working as Mazzega's lead glass designer from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s and shaping an entire generation of its lighting (the firm published its first catalogue in 1970).

His reach went well beyond one workshop. Nason also designed for i-Tre, Murano Due, Vistosi, De Majo and Leucos, and — relevant to collectors of his wall lighting — for J.T. Kalmar in Vienna. Unusually, he oversaw the whole production chain himself, from drawing to kiln to metal fitting, which is part of why his pieces feel so resolved.

Nason's signature is the way he made glass hold and soften light. He worked across several Murano techniques:

Opaline glass — milky white that diffuses a warm, even glow, ideal for ambient light.

Vetro in piastra (slab glass) — thick, stacked glass elements with real visual mass.

Layered (incamiciato) and bubbled (pulegoso) glass — cased and air-bubbled techniques that give depth and a hand-made texture.

Models like the Medusa (LS 134) show how far he pushed these methods. The result is lighting that reads as sculpture when off and as soft, diffuse light when on — the diaphanous quality his work is known for.

For buyers and specifiers, attribution matters. A few practical markers:

Weight and thickness. Genuine pieces use substantial, hand-blown Murano glass — they feel heavy and sculptural, not thin or moulded.

Hardware. Period Mazzega and Nason fittings are typically chrome or brushed steel, with original E27 sockets.

Attribution by model, not signature. Much Murano lighting of this era was unsigned; sound attribution comes from matching documented models and catalogues (Mazzega from 1970 onward) rather than a maker's mark.

Provenance. A credible sourcing trail is the strongest assurance. Every piece at RE•DESIGN is restored, rewired and certified before it ships.

For interior projects, Nason's pieces earn their place three ways. Scale — his pendants and floor lamps are genuine focal points; give them air. Light quality — opaline shades throw a soft, flattering, glare-free light that suits living and hospitality spaces. Material dialogue — the chrome-and-glass palette sits comfortably with both warm mid-century interiors and cooler contemporary schemes.

Each piece is delivered restored, rewired and certified, with white-glove delivery worldwide — so it arrives project-ready.