AV Mazzega Eclipse Pendant Lamp Model LS113 – 1970s Catalogue Picture
AV Mazzega Eclipse pendant lamp – Other colours
Carlo Nason expo – Triennale Milan 2015
Carlo Nason – 2019 Interview
Links (external links open in a new window)
Mazzega 1946 (AV Mazzega)
I Muranesi – Interviews with great Murano glass artists and designers
Vintageinfo
Open glass keaves pendant lamp
Red & white globe table lamps LT 231
Many thanks to Max from AfterMidnight for the catalogue picture.
Many thanks to I Muranesi for the Carlo Nason interview.
AV Mazzega Eclipse Pendant Lamp Model LS 113
Materials: 2 hand blown crystal green and yellow circular Murano glass parts. Transparent coloured on the outside, white on the inside (incamiciato). Metal chain and aluminium parts. Bakelite socket.
Chain Length: 80 cm / 31.49’’
Height: ∅ 40 cm / 15,75”
Width: ∅ 40 cm / 15,75”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb with an E27 screw base can be used. For this pendant lamp preferable a opaque/white or frosted globe bulb.
Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Carlo Nason.
Manufacturer:AV Mazzega, Murano Italy.
Other versions: This AV Mazzega Eclipse pendant lamp exists in many colours. It was made with many different suspensions during the years of production. Also made in a smaller version and made as a pendant chandelier with several lamps together. A version with chrome rings surrounding the glass was also made. This pendant lamp is model LS 113.
Incamiciato: overlay lattimo glass (= milky looking glass) with a layer of transparent coloured glass.
AV Mazzega (Mazzega 1946)
AV Mazzega was founded in Murano in 1946 by Angelo Vittorio Mazzega, the namesake of Azienda Vetraria Muranese. Initially devoted to traditional Murano glass, the company shifted in the 1960s toward contemporary lighting design under the leadership of his children Lidia and Gianni Bruno Mazzega.
Gianni Bruno in particular recognized the talent of Carlo Nason, who went on to define the company’s creative direction. With Nason’s groundbreaking experiments in layered glass and vetro in piastra, AV Mazzega gained international recognition in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1970, the first catalogue was printed. Their lamps became synonymous with Italian design innovation, bridging tradition and modernity.
In 2000, Andrea Mazzega, grandson of the founder, became president. Today the company operates under the name Mazzega 1946, working with leading international designers while continuing to reissue Nason’s classics.
Designers who collaborated with AV Mazzega / Mazzega 1946
Carlo Nason, Aldo Nason, Alberto Nason, Massimo Rioda, Christophe Pillet, Michele De Lucchi, Giovanni Barbato, Paolo Piva, Sam Baron, Gasmi Chafik, Oriano Favaretto, Michelle Liccese, Gianfranco Gianetti, Amerigo Lorini, Claudio Marturano, Paolo Franzin, Anki Gneib, Nigel Coates, Luisa Bocchietto, Gordon Guilaumier, Oriano Favaretto, Jean Marie Massaud, Giovanni Barbato and Riccardo Giovannetti, among others.
Carlo Nason
Carlo Nason was born in Murano in 1935 into one of the island’s oldest glassmaking families. His father, Vincenzo Nason, founded V. Nason & C., where Carlo was introduced to the most refined glassmaking techniques.
Although his formal studies were in economics and administration, his true education came at the furnace, where he mastered traditional skills while developing a passion for design, photography, and graphics. His earliest works from the late 1950s are still preserved today in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, New York.
In the 1960s he began working formally for the family glassworks but quickly expanded beyond it, collaborating with other Murano workshops and pursuing a distinctly modern vision. His designs combined craftsmanship and innovation, balancing Murano traditions with the clean forms and modularity of contemporary design.
Collaboration with AV Mazzega
From the mid-1960s until the 1980s, Carlo Nason designed an entire generation of lamps for AV Mazzega. Under Gianni Bruno Mazzega’s direction, he enjoyed extraordinary creative freedom. He explored vetro in piastra, opaline, pulegoso, and layered glass, developing the poetic, diaphanous lighting effects that became his signature.
Unlike many designers, Nason oversaw the entire production process – from drawings to kiln work and metal fittings – ensuring absolute precision. These years produced numerous icons of Italian design, today regarded as cornerstones of Mazzega’s history.
Collaboration with Kalmar
In the early 1970s, AV Mazzega introduced Nason to Kalmar Franken KG in Vienna. Kalmar, with its tradition of working closely with architects, was then expanding into modern glass lighting. Nason’s minimalist and modular approach proved an ideal match.
For Kalmar he designed systems such as RS-System, Meander and Mare, conceived for both domestic interiors and large-scale architecture. Even more enduring were his decorative series – the famous Tulipan, Citrus, Granada, Sierra, Pagode and Stein collections. Produced with Murano glass and Kalmar’s metal craftsmanship, these ranges became commercial successes across Europe, cementing Kalmar’s reputation in international lighting design.
Other collaborations
Beyond AV Mazzega and Kalmar, Nason designed for Vistosi, De Majo, Leucos, Alt Lucialternative, Gallery Vetri d’Arte, Murano Due, Selenova, Linea GB, IVL, and Gruppo Firme di Vetro, among others. With Lumenform, he created the famous Sona pendant lamp (1970), later reissued by ITre, for which he also designed the popular Opera lamp in the 1990s. For Murano Due, his creations included Bolero, Contessa, Chimera, and Ghost, later entering the Leucos catalogue. At de Majo, he developed the Boccioni vases and the Bilbao lamp, proving his ability to work with materials beyond glass.
His versatility extended beyond lighting: he designed ceramics for Baldelli, ski boots for Garmont, perfume flacons for fashion designers, and served as lighting consultant for Casinos Austria International in Vienna.
Photography and exhibitions
Equally passionate about photography, Nason won numerous competitions during the 1960s and 70s. His images, often commissioned for Murano catalogues, reflected the same modern sensibility as his lamp designs.
In 2015, on his 80th birthday, the Triennale di Milano dedicated a solo exhibition to his work, recognizing him as one of Murano’s most important postwar designers. His creations are held in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Triennale Design Museum in Milan, and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, which owns an extensive collection of his work.
Legacy
Carlo Nason has always been a discreet figure, avoiding the spotlight, yet his designs have reached a wide audience—from museum halls to television screens in the 1980s. His career represents the very best of Italian lighting design: rooted in Murano’s heritage yet always open to innovation, modernity, and international collaboration.
Photo of the old factory on the Murano island, taken in October 2014