A Cenedese Antonio Da Ros Murano Sommerso Cut Glass Geode Bowl c1970

Description

Heading : A Cenedese Antonio Da Ros Murano sommerso cut glass geode bowl
Date : c1970
Origin : Murano. Italy
Bowl Features : Green/blue core cased in dichroic glass. Ovoid cross-section
Marks : None
Type : Lead
Size : 16.5cm length . 6.1 cm tall
Condition : Excellent
Restoration : None
Weight : 2272  grams

There are countless examples of extravagantly decorated and indulgent pieces of glassware of many genres all of which have their origins in Bohemia.
 
Gilding. colouration. engraving. moulding and enamelling are all crafts that have been expertly rendered by craftsmen from the Slavic hinterlands. and their penchant for experimentation and diversity was exhibited again with the development of dichroic glass. This is an extraordinary material which appears to change colour depending on the lighting conditions under which it is viewed. and the process for its manufacture – although broadly understood for centuries beforehand having been observed in the naturally occurring mineral. alexandrite – were patented by the glassworks of Ludwig Moser & Söhne. based in Karlovy Vary (formerly Carlsbad). a spa town in the present day Czech Republic.

Earlier use of the technique was based on a crude – in all probability initially accidental – use of gold and silver colloids having been added to molten glass and resulting in the minute metallic particles refracting light in different directions and producing the differing perception of colour for the observer. The methods were refined and developed by Roman artisans with increasing levels of competence. until they were ultimately able to produce the 4th century Lycurgus Cup – a truly staggering. cage-cut piece which is well worth looking up on-line.
 

This dichroic glass simply from the Greek root “dikhroos” meaning two-coloured is not Czech but Italian. In artificial light the base is perfectly clear. In natural light it is mauve.