Marius Ernest Sabino 1878 - 1961
Portrait of Marius Sabino taken March 12, 1925
Private collection - Houston Texas USA)MariusSabino was born in Sicily in 1878, and with his family moved to France while he was still a young boy. His father, a sculptor of wood, trained him to follow in his steps.
He would go on to study at L'Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs
and the Beaux Arts de Paris, where he became particularly
interested in the challenges that the advent of electricity would
have on glass manufacture. It was through electric lights that
Sabino came to the production of glass. In fact, on his return
from the first World War (where he had joined as a volunteer),
he founded a factory which manufactured traditional lights fittings
of wood or bronze and then quickly changed to glass.
He realized the enormous potential of the new techniques which
made it possible to create the perfect molds for a unique
translucent material. By pouring this material into the molds, he
created beautiful relief in very precise and exciting designs. The
glass of the chandelier was no longer part of the design-it was
the principal component. His chandeliers, which were often
monumental in size, were made to compliment the architecture of
the day.