Antonio Salviati (Milaan, 18 maart 1816 - aldaar, 25 januari 1890) was een Italiaans glasfabrikant en oprichter van het familiebedrijf Salviati.
Antonio Salviati (18 March 1816 – 25 January 1890) was an Italian glassmaker and founder of the family business Salviati.
Biography
Born in Vicenza, Salviati was a lawyer who became interested in glassware after taking part in restorations of the mosaics of the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice. He opened his first glass business in 1859 with Lorenzo Radi, and this firm produced the mosaic glass for the altar screen for the high altar of Westminster Abbey. In 1876 he left this company to set up a new firm that executed the mosaic decoration of the dome of Aachen Cathedral, whose designs were based on the ideas of the Belgian architect Jean-Baptiste de Bethune. In the Victorian period, Salviati transformed glass pieces, once a staple of wealth enjoyed by only a few, into ornamental pieces seen by millions in the homes and salons of Italy.
During 1866, Antonio Salviati founded Compagnia Venezia Murano with British diplomat and archaeologist Austen Henry Layard. Pauly & C. - Compagnia Venezia Murano has continued to be an important producer of Venetian art glass.
Of particular historical relevance is the mosaic portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, which can be viewed today in the Senate House rooms in the United States, produced by Compagnia Venezia Murano and donated by Antonio Salviati in 1866.
Murano had been a centre of fine glasswork since the Middle Ages (producing the glass that bore its name), but the pieces were lavish and expensive specialty pieces that only the wealthy could afford. Salviati changed the face of the business by becoming the first glass factory owner to employ a large number of skilled workers to mass-produce glass intended for export. The Victorian period saw Salviati turn glass pieces, a former staple of wealth enjoyed by a few, into ornamental pieces seen by millions throughout the homes and parlors of Italy. This re-established Murano as a centre for glass manufacture.
