Max Ernst (1891-1976) & Egidio Costantini (1912-2007) - "Cat and Bird". Sculpture in pâte de verre made at the Fucina degli Angeli, Murano. Numbered 2/3 Circa 1963. Signed by the two artists in engraving on the top. Plexiglas support added (one corner missing). Dimensions: H: 38; W: 29 cm Max Ernst, husband of Peggy Guggenheim, moved to Venice in 1962 to discover the world of glass. He met Egidio Costantini, with whom he made his first glass creations at the "fungina de angeli" (angels' forge - the name given to it by the artist Cocteau). Birds had always been a favourite repertoire for Max Ernst, and the first works he made with Costantini had birds as their theme. The story goes that as a child he lost his cockatoo, which he adored, because a cat ate it (the very theme of the work). The work is marked 2/3, but only two pieces were made, one for Ernst and the other for Constantini. The third broke during the cooling process, as Constantini indicated at the time. The Constantin piece is still in the artist's family, which is why the piece presented here is the only one known and available on the market.