MURANO ART GLASS AUSTRALIA Techniques used in the making

Transcription

MURANO ART GLASS AUSTRALIA
The Largest Murano Glass Dealer In The World
Techniques used in the making of
Murano Glass
Website - www.italiandecor-glasslights.com
Email - [email protected]
The Range of techniques used by todays Modern Master Glass Blowers date back to
the 13th century when Venetian Glass Blowing really began in Murano. We hope you
enjoy a brief explanation of the techniques used with images to you can gain a better
understanding of this most fabulous of art forms.
AVVENTURINA
Glass of a yellow - brownish colour, translucent, in which copper metal microcrystal are dispersed to reflect a gold colour, formed by
deglassification (separation from the molten mass during the cooling step). It is prepared by melting the mixture of transparent colourless
glass with the addition of cuprous oxide and iron and lead oxides. Melting takes place in a reducing chamber and the molten mass should
be cooled very, very slowly. Traditionally, to obtain the best quality, once the mass is molten, the oven is switched off and left to cool on
its own for several days. Once room temperature is reached, the crucible is smashed and the avventurina is found under a layer of
coloured oxidized glass. This glass found its highest application in Murano in the mid-nineteenth century, first at the furnaces of Pietro
Bigaglia and then at Salviati & Co., where it was melted once again and blown to obtain extremely rich and elegant items, often made for
the royal families of the day. In the twentieth century Avventurina was used by only a small number of glass - works as it was very difficult
to obtain. Special mention should be made here by Barovier & Toso's and Aureliano Toso's who, on designs by he painter Dino Martens,
executed a series of vases with this material decorated with applied multi-coloured strips.
ANSE VOLANTE
Glassware produced by the A.V.E.M. firm on design by Giorgio Ferro in the early 50s. It's a technique based on making a
hole in the walls of a vase while still hot, and pressing it repeatedly onto a metal plate, so that it becomes very narrow. A
metal tool is then used to start making the hole: this may require several attempts in relation to the thickness of the glass.
Once the hole is made, the item is heated as appropriate and the hole is widened at will by twisting the metal tool inside the
glass that is thus modelled to obtain the desired shape. This operation, simple itself, requires a good command of the
technique. The first example of vases obtained this way go back to the early 30s, as seen in some pieces designed by the
painter Dino Martens for Salviati & Co. The highest level of expression has been actually attained in A.V.E.M.'s "anse
volanti", that represent one of the most significant examples of the 50s' style.
APPLICAZIONI A CALDO
Literally Hot application. Heated element applied to hot molten glass in order to colour or texture it
BATUTTO
This is a type of glass whose surface has a homogeneous set of grindings of variable depth, slightly irregular, in imitation of
hammered branches. The first examples of this type of process go back to the early nineteen hundreds in France, at the
Daum works, with the "martelé" vases. In Murano the technique enjoyed great favour at Venini & Co., on the part of Carlo
Scarpa, who was the first to design a series of items with elementary shapes executed in coloured transparent glass. In the
late 50s, Venini & Co. produced another series of items, designed by Tobia Scarpa, Carlo's son, that met with a huge
success with the critics and the public as well. In the 60s the "battuto" was used by Alfredo Barbini to finish some vases of
highly plastic shapes, designed by Napoleone Martinuzzi.
BULLICANTE
This is a very thick glass whose decoration consists of several layers of tiny air bubbles arranged uniformly. To get it, the
glass mass, still on the blower's pipe, is introduced into a special die lined with metal tips: these leave small spaces on the
surface of the molten mass which is then submerged in another layer of molten glass, so that, due to surface tension, they
are transformed into tiny air bubbles. When this operation is repeated several times, this effect of bubbles one above the
other is obtained, giving a sense of lightness to the material. This process, invented by Flavio Poli at the firm of Seguso Vetri
d'Arte, in the mid - 30's, was used to produce very large vases and figures. Other glass factories used this technique
without, however, attaining the perfection in execution caught up from Archimede Seguso, that period's master glassblower
at the firm of Seguso Vetri d'Arte.
CALCEDONIO
Glass with multi-coloured hues, translucent, with opaque veins, obtained by adding to the molten mass, say colourless
transparent glass, a pigmented mixture based on different oxides (generally copper, iron, cobalt and tin) and metallic silver
that also contains a reducing components (carbon or whatever); the mixture is partially blended with the molten mass and
the whole is then mixed after some time. The colouring effect is given both by the dissolution of the metallic oxides in the
glass and by the formation of small colloidal particle of metallic silver and copper, smaller than the microcrystals. This type
of glass was already applied in Murano in the XVI and XVII centuries, but the use was later abandoned so much so that its
formula got lost.It was only in 1846 that the industrialist Lorenzo Radi, after a laborious search, managed to lay his hands on
it again, and used it to produce articles, or blown in flat panes as complements of costly furniture. The Venini & Co. firm
uses it, on the design of Napoleone Martinuzzi, to finish mouths and handles of large vases of for centre-table figures. In the
early nineteenth century calcedonio wasn't used a great deal and this term has now come to mean a material consisting
substantially of a mixture of pastes that have already been melted in two or three colours. It is now rare to come across true
calcedonio, like that executed by the Cenedese firm in the 60s, purely for research. Nowadays the calcedonio glass is
performed by Andrea Tagliapietra, Dino Rosin; Vetreria artistica Zanetti.
CANNA
Canna Rods of glass usually formed by drawing out long lengths of glass from large gathers on a punty of iron. Bundles of
cane are often fused together and drawn out again to a suitable diameter before being cut into small decorative pieces as
millefiori for picking up into paperweights. They are als cut into lengths and placed against the side of an open mould for
picking up onto a gather which is marbled and pulled out to make rods used for opaque twist and filigrana work.
Lavorazione a Canna One of the fundamental processes of Murano's glassworks. A very large numbers of types and
applications can be found for this technique, both functional and decorative. The extreme viscosity of the molten glass
allows it to be drawn out at a certain temperature starting from the end of the blower's pipe in long, narrow pipes. When a
layer of coloured glass is superimposed over a base of opaque glass it is possible to obtain numberless variants of colour
and thickness in relation to how the molten glass mass is drawn out. Suitably - heated rods are used in the decoration of
vases and figures. All Murano glass factories have always used them extensively with artistic results that were on occasion
quite outstanding, as the tessuto vases designed by Carlo Scarpa.
CAMEO
Cased Forms of glass, usually with an opaque white over a colour, in which the outer colour is carved to leave a translucent
white relief design or figure in contrast against the layer or the layers of base colour. The Portland Vase is probably the best
known piece of ancient cameo glass but the technique has been revived in various places over the centuries.
FENICO
Decoration obtained by applied thread of lattimo glass or vitreous paste round the body of the item in a festoon-like weavy
pattern, obtained by using a kind of metal comb called "maneretta" passed uniformly over the surface. This technique goes
back to the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians to decorate perfume bottles and cruets. During the nineteenth century it met
with great success in Murano, as well as in the twentieth: in the late 1920s it was used by the MVM Cappellin & Co. Firm to
make a series of vases, designed by Carlo Scarpa. This item were characterized by outstanding refinement in both the
purity and the combination of colours of the vitreous pastes together with the application of gold and silver leaves. During
the 50s the Barovier & Toso firm also used light variations such as in the "neolitici" and in the "graffiti"; in both cases, the
applications were submerged by a layer of colourless glass after being "combed
FILLIGRANA
One of the oldest traditional processes already in use in the XVI Century. It is done by applying under heat on the surface of
an item a homogeneous series of transparent colourless glass rods, with the core of coloured glass. The rods are previously
arranged on a metal plate, they are heated to the melting point, and a cylindrical item is then made to roll over them, so that
they adhere to it. The item is then finished as desired. All the most important Murano glass factories use this technique that
lends itself admirably to an extensive range of decorative solutions. The great maestro Archimede Seguso did extensive
research and many experiments during the 50s and 60s to partially model some filigrana parts and then applying them to
the items: some very elegant series were designed this way, such as "spiraline", "composizione lattimo", "filigrana stellata",
"merletto" vases and still others.
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GHIACCIATO
Glass with a surface having a kind of "craquelure". The effect is obtained by plunging the semi-finished article into water for
just a few seconds when it is still hot (about 800 Degrees Celsius) and then exposing it to the heat of the furnace again. This
process can be repeated several times when a more marked effect is required. The sudden cooling of the surface, while the
innermost mass is still in the molten state, determines a powerful and non uniform contraction of the volume in a thin layer,
that thus exhibits apparent breakages similar to a spider's web. The subsequent reheating of the item eliminates any
residual tensions: this prevents the extensions of these surface cracks. This technique has been known since antiquity and
was much in use in the XVI century in the production of glasses and bowls. It was used in the early twentieth century in the
production of lighting fixtures that enhance its very special features for the distribution of light.
INCALMO
This is an ancient glass-making technique to make objects, consisting of distinct parts joined after heat. Two or more
elements of different colours are prepared by modelling them into the overall shape. They are then joined together very
accurately and finished as desired. If necessary, the operation can be repeated over and over. This system requires
uncommon technical mastery on the part of the glassblower, but outstandingly beautiful objects have been created, such as
those by Thomas Stearns for Venini & C. in the early 60s.
INCAMICIATO
This is a glass consisting of two superimposed layers of lattimo glass and of coloured transparent glass on occasion with
the submersion of gold and silver leaf so as to obtain an opaque effect. This is a much simpler execution than that of
vitreous paste, that involves more complex technical problems, and began to be used during the 20s at almost all the most
important works such as Venini & C., F.lli Toso, Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C., C. Maschio, etc. Incamiciato glass has a
very considerable visual impact, especially in large vases, as the chromatic solutions are indeed numberless, and it found
extensive application in the field of lighting fixtures as the presence of lattimo glass allowed the optimum diffusion of light in
combination with forms that were utterly new at the time, such as the chandeliers produced by the S.A.I.A.R. Ferro-Toso
firm during the early 30s.
LATTIMO
This is a white milky-like glass in which the opacity is provided by the presence of microcrystals dispersed in the matrix that
are separated out when the molten glass is cooled down. The microcrystals do not absorb the light beams but reflect them,
and thus determine both the opacity and the white colouring. In the Murano area they consist of calcium and sodium
fluorides and they are obtained by adding fluorine compounds such as cryolite or fluorine spar, as well as zinc oxide and
alumina, to the glassy mixture. The lattimo wasa introduced in the XVI century for items decorated with multi-coloured
enamels, especially refined and rare. It was later used as a complement to other types of process, such as the reticello. It
fell into disuse in the early Novecento, but it was given a new lease of l�ife in the late 20s on the part of the most important
and famous Murano glass factories, such as Barovier & Co., Venini & Co. And MVM Cappellin & Co. The latter was the first
to use it without the addition of other colours for a series of geometric vases exhibited at the 1927 International Exhibition of
Decorative Arts in Monza. Later, during the 50s, lattimo glass was adopted by almost all the glass furnaces on the island
and attained excellent results in figures, as well as the case of the famous "Commedia dell'Arte" figures by Fulvio Bianconi
for Venini & Co.
MASELLO
Full, not blown glass, processed under heat by modelling a block of glassy mass applied over the tip of a metal rod. This
process appeared in Murano for the first time in the late 20s thanks to Flavio Poli at the I.V.A.M. furnace of Libero Vitali's
where he designed the first figures in full or massello glass. Once an initial distrust was revealed from the most traditionalist
critics was overcome - actually they saw in this technique a betrayal of one the most important Murano glass feature, the
lightness, this process has been widely adopted throughout the island. Once it become one of the most used system, it
allows to achieve remarkable artistic results, as shown by some works executed by Archimede Seguso and by Alfredo
Barbini.
MURRINA
This is one of the oldest known processes, the first examples go back to the Roman times. Items made this way were already existed in the XVI
century. Fallen out of use, this technique was started again in the mid-nineteenth century and reached his peak in the twentieth century, thanks to
Artisti Barovier and Venini & Co. Making a murrina consists essentially in preparing a bundle of multi-coloured glass rods, arranged so that its crosssection follows a predetermined design. It is then heated, and when the melting point is reached, it is pulled until the desired diameter is obtained .
After cooling, the rod is cut up into small disks of variable thickness, ranging from just a few millimetres to a couple of centimetres, whose section has
the previously made design. Disks are now ready to be used in several ways: the first consists in preparing on a metal plate a set of murrine
according to a given design, heating them up and then making them adhere by rotation on the surface of an item having a cylindrical shape, still
connected to the blower's pipe. After this process is finished, sometimes the item is coated with a layer of transparent coloured glass. All the vases
produced in the 40s and 50s by Artisti Barovier, by the F.lli Toso firm and by Venini are made with this technique. The second, more suitable for the
executions of dishes and bowls, consists in arranging the murrine inside a die made of refractory material, trying to fill in the empty spaces with glass
powder so as to get an homogeneous mass. The whole is then heated as appropriate so that the murrine are linked together to form a single object.
After cooling, the item is finished off with the grinding wheel to remove any irregularities that may be due to the heating process. The famous Carlo
Scarpa dishes were made in the 40s with this system, and even later by Venini & Co. in the following years and from Alfredo Barbini in the 60s.
MUSIVO
This glass was invented by the painter Mario De Luigi who, exploiting Salviati & Co. Experience in the field of mosaics, used
this technique for the execution of a series of vases and dishes. A given design is prepared on a metal plate, consisting of
glass tesseras similiar to those used for mosaics, and the whole is then heated until a single plate is obtained. Then, with
extreme difficulty, the plate is modelled in the form of a vase. This is the reason for thr degree of approximation and the
apparent non-uniformity of products, well matched by decorations in bright colours based on primitive motifs. After the XX
Venice Biennale in 1936 these items were no longer proposed, as they were too difficult to make.
MEZZA FILLIGRANA
Literally Half filigree. Decoration consisting on fine, parallel, coloured threads between layers of crystal. In order to achieve
the desired fineness, the vessel to be decorated thus is made of preformed tubes created through extreme stretching of an
�a canne� glass body as a hot application (�applicazione a caldo�) inclusion. The cylinder is then given the desired
shape and twisted during glassblowing.
MILLIFIORI
Literally "a thousand of flowers". This is used to describe small mosaic sections of glass made by fusing and marbling
together regular arrangements of coloured canna, then pulling out the resulting thick form to produce a length of
multicoloured cane. This is cut and chopped into small pieces. These are used mostly for picking up onto a gather of molten
glass (pea) from the bronzino for inclusion into paperweights or for blown vases.
ORIENTE
This term indicates two very different types of glass. Chronologically, the first one is the one made by Ercole Barovier in
1940, characterised by a "tartan" motif consisting of flat coloured rods, on a colourless transparent backing, with
applications of lots of silver leaves. Eleven years later, the painter Dino Martens exhibited the second series: vases
produced at the Aureliano Toso glass factory, with asymmetrical shapes, characterised by rich colourings, obtained with
irregular patches of brightly-coloured vitreous pastes (yellow, red, blue, black, etc.), avventurina, fragments of zanfirico rods
and the characteristic "flower" (the artist called it that way), a circle formed by spokes of black and lattimo rods. This latter
series is certainly the one taht is best known to the public, the one that has steadily become with "pezzati" by Venini & C0.
one of the symbols of Murano's glass-works during the 50s.
PASTA VITREA
This is a coloured opaque glass whose preparation is based on the same principle as the lattimo glass: in this case,
however, white microscrystals are dispersed in a coloured vitreous phase. Others, differently, are obtained with coloured
microcrystals dispersed in either a colourless or a coloured vitreous phase. In the first case lattimo is used (microcrystals of
calcium and sodium fluoride) or white enamel (a more intensive white, completely opaque even in a thin layer), generally
obtained with microcrystals of arsenic and lead) dispersed in a transparent coloured glass. The white microcrystals, in
addition to making the glass opaque, soften the colour of the glass in which they are inserted that must contain a high
percentage of colouring agents. In this second case 'cores' are used: these are the semifinished crystalline structure based
on lead antimonate or stannate that are yellow or red. These are added to the molten mass just before processing because
they are compounds that dissolve easily. The utilisation of vitreous paste in the past century has been the prerogative of just
a few glass factories, such as Venini & Co. and MVM Cappellin & Co., since results could be very difficult to attain and they
often gave rise to unsatisfactory materials. Their utilisation was more widespread after the war, adopted as they were to
complement the making of figures, much in fashion at the time. Only the American designer Thomas Stearns made large
items entirely of vitreous paste for Venini & Co.
PEZATTO TESSERE
This glass is like a patchwork with elements of different colours and is obtained as follows: on a metal plate a series of
segments of flat rods, according to a given design, are arranged. The plate is heated to take the segments back up to their
melting point: at this stage the set of molten fragment is made adhere by rotation to the outer surface of the vase still on the
tip of the blower's pipe. After the pieces have been joined together, they are finished by appropriate smoothing over and
modelling. Strictly speaking, the pezzati pieces are those designed by Fulvio Bianconi and produced by Venini & Co. This
technique was also adopted by other Murano glass factories, but if we want to look at who was really first, we have to
remember some bowls designed by the painter Dino Martens and exhibited a number of series of vases such as the
"millefili", "tessere", "sidone" and "parabolici", with a decor consisting of alternate tesseras of various colours and
consistency.
PULEGOSO
Glass with a spongy appearance, with lots of air bubbles, so much that it appears almost opaque. The inventor was
Napoleone Martinuzzi, the art director at Venini & Co. in the late 20s. It is easier to make than it would appear. Murano
legend is rich in fantastic tales for the use of unwary tourists: in the case of pulegoso glass, the story had it that the most
extraordinary substances were used to get this result. In actual fact, the homogeneous and refined molten mass (with no air
bubbles or impurities) is vigorously mixed in with salts (generally sodium carbonate or bicarbonate) that decompose due to
the heat and released gases (carbon dioxide) dispersed in the form of bubbles having vary diameters. The first vases made
by Venini with this new material were hailed by the critics who saw Murano glass industry rising up again with products that
were an excellent representation of the "Novecento" style of the 30s. On the wave of this success, several other furnaces
used "pulegoso" glass, even in the field of lighting. The firms of A.V.E.M., Vetreria Artistica, Barovier & Co., Seguso Vetri
d'Arte and others went on producing vases, figures and the famous cactuses. During the 50s Dino Martens made the
famous "pittorici" vases for the firm of Aureliano Toso. The fortune of this type of glass went on with the creations by Gae
Aulenti for Venini & Co., dated 1995.
REAZIONE POLICROMA
This is a type of glass that is the result of research carried out by Giulio Radi, the long-time (from 1939 to 1952) art director
of the A.V.E.M. glass factory. By exploiting the differences in the coefficients of expansion of the different types of glass and
highlighting them through overlapping's of gold and silver leaf, unusual chromatic effects are obtained and enhanced by
submersion with layer of various thickness of transparent glass, mostly colourless, thus causing a kind of lens-like effect.
The items, surely high-level quality both referring to artistic expressions and to research, were mostly executed by the
master glassblower Luciano Ferro. The XXXIII Venice Biennale dedicated a small retrospective exhibition to that items.
Maestro Aldo Nason took up this technique again by executing the fortunate "Yokohama" series of the 60s.
RETICELLO
This is a variant of the "filigrana" already known in Murano in the XVI century. It is obtained by joining two colonical vases
under heath, covered externally with thin coloured rods, one arranged clockwise and the other anticlockwise. A network is
thus formed, having a rhomboid-like mesh. The differences of thickness through the rods, within each quadrangle, cause
the typical air bubble. In the early 1900 this technique was adopted by plenty of glass factories to make glass sets. The
most refined and perfect examples are those made at the end of the 20s. Large dimension blown objects having also
geometric shapes and extremely thin sides, in spite of the enormous difficulties of execution, were made by Giacomo
Cappellin.
RUGIADA
This is a type of glass invented by Ercole Barovier in 1940 consisting of an application of colourless glass grit onto the
surface of an object during its production. When the object is then heated, the particles are partially melted and adhere
perfectly. To enhance the material, some pieces of gold leaf are on occasion encased between the surface and the grit, with
the object being subsequently iridized. This technique was used for a series of bowls and vases with a marine inspiration
and even in field of lighting, due to the pleasant light diffraction effects on the uneven surface.
SOMMERSO
This is a glass coated with a thick layer of colourless transparent glass, or with a glass which has a colour different from the
one of the backing. It consists of a layer of coloured glass with the inclusion of air bubbles and gold leaf, more rarely with
the subsequent application of rods in pulegoso glass, coated with a colourless transparent layer about one inch thick. Many
Muranese glass factories extensively took up this technique with very considerable results.
COROSO
Kind of glass whose surface is irregular to the touch due to the use of chemical agents. Technically, an "acid process" is
caused by the corrosion of the glass surface that provokes the disintegration of the glass lattice: the result is the creation of
a rough layer on the surface. This non-uniform layer causes an effect of partial diffusion and reflexion of the light. For its
execution, solutions of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride in water are commonly used. By varying temperature, time
in the bath and composition of the same, it is possible to obtain very varied effects. The parts of the glass surface to be kept
bright are plated with wax or some other organic protective agent. This technique was introduced by the French at the
beginning of the 20th century and found its first applications in Murano in the mid-30s applied to a series of "corrosi" wares
designed by Carlo Scarpa for Venini & Co. and to the vases and figured designed by Flavio Poli for the Seguso Vetri d'Arte
firm. Fallen progressively out of use, this technique is to this day very strictly regulated from the new anti-pollution
regulation, because of the high toxic level of the materials used durign the production process.
SFUMATO
It consists in a glass that, under a transparent colourless layer, contains inside it coloured corpuscles that, due to the
diffraction of light, give the visual impression of smoke. It is obtained as follows: during production, the surface of the item is
exposed to the smoke of a wood fire; a certain quantity of greyish particles (unburnt carbon and ash) adheres to the surface
of the glass that is in turn vigorously marked with metal tools so as to form some grooves. The entire surface is later coated
again with another layer of molten glass. This technique was presumably invented by Alfredo Barbini at the V.A.M.S.A. glass
factories at the end of the 30s and was used to execute both vases and figures of birds, among them the famous ducks that
met with such great success. Some minor furnaces took this technique up again in the 80s.
SMALTI
Enamels wide spread in Murano since ancient time. While up to the mid-nineteenth century every craftsman made his own
on the basis of very particular and jealously kept recipes, it later became fashionable to adopt vitreous enamels produced
on an industrial scale. They must have the following features: applied cold to the item during manufacture, they must fuse at
a temperature lower than that of the glass, their colours should not fade at high temperatures and they should have a
coefficient of expansion as close as possible to that of glass to prevent breakages during the cooling stage. Once the
decoration is finished, the item is placed in a small "muffola" oven where it reaches a temperature of some 550/600 C to
allow the enamel to fuse without deforming the item. In the Novecento this technique was used to make copies of ancient
models, but a few exceptions.
SCAVO
This is a glass that imitates the effect caused by long periods spent underground, typical of glass objects found during
archaeological diggings. During manufacture, a mixture of several powders is dispersed on the surface of the object at a
temperature of about 800 C. These adhere irreversibly and give the special effect of opaqueness and colouring. To improve
adhesion the piece is heated again. The powder mixture contains melting components (carbonates or nitrates that
decompose under heat and act as binders; inert opaqueness (talcum, silica, etc.) other colouring agents. This technique
was introduced in the early 50s.
SABIATURA
This is a process to get the same results as the "acid" process without, however, the latter's negative aspects, caused by
the use of toxic substances. Sand or alumina powder is sprayed onto the glassware using a compressed air device. The
impact of the particles on the surface causes micro fractures that make it opaque. Sanding is marked to a greater or lesser
extent by an appropriate adjustment of both air pressure and particles size. Used mostly on flat sheets, this technique has
also found application in the preparation of some prearranged drawings, by masking some of their parts. At the end of the
30s, an extraordinary virtuosity was reached: this was the case of some extremely rare vases made at the S.A.L.I.R. glass
factory, whose glass masters actually managed to pierce the glass surface to create refined decorations having a metal-like
effect.
SIDERALLE
This is a glass invented in the early 50s. The procedure for its preparation was as follows: a large concentric-ring murrina
was made with two alternating colours; it was then heated again and applied while hot to the item being processed. After a
first finishing step, and after cooling, the item still with an irregular shape was modelled and polished at the grinding wheel
with an extremely long and delicate operation. With this complex and laborious technique, a limited number of items was
made, very rare and refined, that for their essential shape and decor represent the very best Muranese production, with a
level of quality that compares well with that of northern Europe.
SBRUFI
This is a thick glass made by placing a number of coloured glass layers on the top of the pea. The technique consists in
blowing a big ball of coloured glass and applying it over the pea. The master keeps the pea and the servente prepares the
very thin blown coloured glass. Then when the two parts reach at the right temperature the coloured glass is applied over
the pea. The process can be repeated many and many times and also alternated with iridescenza to obtain striking effect. A
long time of apprenticeship and a great coordination through the piazza's staff is essential for this process. Only the best
factories product items made using "a sbruffi" technique..
SATURNO
The name refers to the planet Saturn. It is a spherical solid multi-coloured glass dissected by a wide ring collar. This
technique was invented by Lino Tagliapietra and has been interpreted by many other contemporary glass-makers, to realize
artistic rather than commercial staffs.
TESSUTO
A glass invented during the late 30s it is based on the traditional filigrana, technique with particularly thin rods used in this
case, joined one to the other with especially refined alternating colours. On occasion to enhance the surface even further, it
was lightly "battuto" at the grinding wheel.
TESSUTO
A glass invented by Carlo Scarpa for Venini & Co. during the late 30s. It is based on the traditional "filigrana" technique with
particularly thin rods used in this case, joined one to the other with especially refined alternating colours. On occasion, to
enhance the surface even further, it is lightly "battuto" at the grinding wheel. Used by Venini & Co. to this day, it was in use
by Paolo Venini in the 50s to make small flat panes that, once assembled, form large glass windows in flashy colours.
Architect Gio Ponti praised them in the pages of the magazine "Domus". The "mosaico tessuto", consisting of flat "tessuto"
glass rods and of other elements arranged orthogonally, using the "pezzati" technique, it was exhibited at the Milano
Triennale in 1954 by Paolo Venini.
ZANFIRICO
This is a glass rod executed with the same procedure as the "murrine". A sheaf of rods of different colours is prepared with a
given design, it is heated to the melting point; two metal rods are then attached at the ends of the molten mass while two
maestros draw it out and impart a movement of rotation. The fluidity of the material is such that it can be twisted at will to
assume its characteristic spiral-like shape inside. This type of object was already known in Murano in the XVI century with
the name of "a retortoli " glass. The current name of "zanfirico" is taken from the Venetian nineteenth century dealer Antonio
Sanquirico who proposed this process anew.
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MURANO ART GLASS AUSTRALIA Techniques used in the making

Transcription

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