Technical Description
Zanfirico or ‘Vetro a Retorti’ drinking glass, commonly referred to as a ‘tazza’ (cup) in Italian or ‘roemer’ after the German form. Produced by the Venetian glass manufacturer Salviati & C. Murano. Decorated using the zanfirico technique, the pattern includes ‘lattice filigree’ outlined in copper aventurine, alternating with cased aqua blue ribbons. The cup bowl and tall, hollow, trumpet foot are both finished with a copper aventurine rim. Rough pontil and slag seed material consistent with its age.
Date & Origin
Island of Murano, Italy, c1859-90.
Condition
Excellent, no chips, cracks or restoration.
Dimensions
Height: 12.5cm Bowl Diameter: 6.cm Feet Diameter:6.8cm
Comments
Finely executed, this pattern can be found adorning Salviati C. cherub bowls which had been produced by the company c1859-72, by the mid-20th century the pattern was adapted to simple translucent canes, wide unkempt twists with a loose finish.
We also have another drinking glass of this exact form which exhibits patterning from Salviati & C. as attributed by the Murano Glass Museum, Venice.
Zanfirico, which is a synonym for the traditional term “vetro a retorti”, takes its name from the Venetian dealer Antonio Sanquirico, who, in the 1830s, encouraged the revival of this and other techniques.
Traditionally, this technique is known as “latticino,” named for the combination of milk (lattimo) glass threads fused in crystal (cristallo). More modernly termed “filigrana” (filigree).
This item is out of stock.
