Romano Donà

ROMANO DONÀ (Murano, Italy, 1956).
Aquarium sculpture, ca. 1980s–1990s.
Artistic Murano glass featuring tropical fish, seaweed, and bubbles inside.
Signed.
Shows slight scratches.
Measurements: 23 x 23 x 9 cm.

A Murano art glass sculpture by Romano Donà, conceived as a small, solid aquarium. Inside the transparent form are vibrantly colored tropical fish, delicate vertical seaweed, and suspended bubbles, creating an effect of depth and movement within the glass mass. The blue base, with its intense color, evokes the seabed and enhances the luminosity of the piece.

This type of aquarium sculpture is part of the Murano tradition of artisanal virtuosity, where glass becomes a transparent, narrative interior space. The engraved signature confirms the artist’s authorship and reinforces its appeal as a collector’s item.

Romano Donà is a master glassmaker born in Murano in 1956. He trained from a young age in the family trade and worked at Fratelli Manfren; beginning in 1975, he collaborated with Livio Seguso and later with artists such as Henry Mavrodin, Federica Marangoni, Mimmo Rotella, and Ugo Marano. In 1987, he received the Murano Prize for master glassmakers, and beginning in 1997, he worked at the Stefano Toso glassworks, where he developed his own creations in sculptural glass.