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The contrast between the transparent frosted glass base, which retains its lightness, and the heavy conical cast iron bowl is the formal theme of this vase. The vase is finished by hand in order to preserve the characteristics of the material.

“When I started thinking about the Pluvia vase, we were like many other times in the garden. We wanted a vase that was weatherproof and strong enough to contrast with the exuberant vegetation in the background and against the violent storms of the lake. It was the first time I thought of making an all-cast iron object: a material that used to be widely used outdoors and is now making a strong comeback. It also reminded me of garden furniture, but I wanted it to be modern, not with an outdated feature. I only saw two strong shapes and then I had the slightly crazy idea of fixing the glass. I wanted an invisible base that gives the impression of a heavy and resistant body, resting on almost nothing, confronting the materiality of cast iron with the immateriality of glass. I presented these vases for the first time at a watercolour exhibition at the Maulbronn museum in Germany and it was raining a lot that day…”. It was very difficult to find qualified craftsmen. Small craftsmen are not willing to maintain the waste of defective parts created in order to keep the glass as thin as possible. Large foundries, on the other hand, do not want to stop their machines and waste time for seven or eight vases. Even if a very precise mold has been made, the emerging parts differ from each other and it is impossible to avoid waste. The piece is relatively large and very deep and the cast iron contracts a lot when it is cooled, so that the shapes tend to lose their geometry. Michele De Lucchi, 1997.