Cupola by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby for Meta

Cupola, by design duo and Olympic torch designers Barber Osgerby, is a blend of great Avant Garde design and of early 19th Century glass furniture. Glass furniture reached its pinnacle in 1815, where magnificent pieces were created for the Great Exhibition of London, and commissioned for the palaces of India’s elite, by the Maharana of Udaipur and the Maharajah of Gwailor among others.

The most experienced master craftsmen from the grand Murano glass house of Venini poured their talent into Cupola. Double incalmo joins, mezza filigrana, as well as the largest piece of mould blown glass crowned Cupola a true masterpiece of traditional blown glass. The mirror-polished white bronze occasional table and the Belgian marble base both turn this tour de force of craftsmanship into a practical and solid piece of design.

Just don’t ask me how much it costs. Oh, okay then. Yes it is £34,000. But what do you expect after reading about expensive processes and materials.

I have blogged about Meta before, in my Wales & Wales post, and always felt uncomfortable in posting about products that are out of the reach for most of us, but there is a quality to their pieces that should be celebrated.

I am not suggesting that more people should be buying a side table to rival the price of a two-bed house in Sheffield but I am advocating that we look to these items when sourcing ideas for our own homes. Meta push boundaries without worrying about the price tag at the end – these are art pieces, not commodities and can help to push the boundaries of processes that designers use to create affordable pieces, much like Haute couture does for fashion.

Cupola is a beautiful object that serves a purpose and shows us what is possible if money is not limit.