Topic: Split: Submerged, Wrapped or Sommerso?

[Leni]

No sommerso halo Rob? 

As you know, this isn't my (usual) style of glass, so 'I know nothing', but I would really appreciate it if you (or someone) could explain what you mean by 'sommerso halo'    Ta muchly

[Max]

Ooer!  My reply disappeared!  Leni, it was probably my strange use of the word 'halo' that threw you.    That's my own invention as it's descriptive.  I was asking if Rob's bowl had any other colours besides the blue - sommerso wrapped around the inner core.  I thought there might be yellow too, it's hard to see from the photo. 

[Leni]

Soooooo .... (admitting my ignorance) .... can someone explain 'sommerso' please?  I thought it was 'layered' glass.  Am I right, or does there have to be a minimum number of layers to be classed as 'sommerso'?  Like, is one layer of colour and one of clear still sommerso, or does there have to be more?  And is the term sommerso just used to describe italian (Murano?) glass, or is it still called sommerso even if it's Scandi or LSA or whatever? 

[Max]

Ivo's book gives sommerso as "coloured glass cased with a clear outer layer".  For me, I always use sommerso when there's more than one colour that's cased around a central core though.  Like the Murano 'geode' bowls and vases that have several wraps of separate colours so you can see the separations, then all cased in clear.  As far as I know sommerso is an Italian term, but I can't see why you couldn't apply it to glass of that type from any country really.  Although off the top of my head I can't think of any other countries that do that style.  Probably someone else can! 

[Lustrousstone]

I think sommerso actually means submerged. Here is an LSA (labelled) sommerso geode

[Max]

Yep, Ivo's book says that too.  I think wrapped and submerged are terms for the same thing though - well, to my mind they are anyway. 

[Max]

I split this off as it seemed to be interesting and not really related to the initial topic. 

When is glass classed as 'submerged' rather than 'cased' or 'wrapped'?  Can glass be called Sommerso when it's only one colour cased in clear?

[josordoni]

I have always thought that any glass that has at least one colour submerged into another is sommerso.  I have seen the terms double and triple sommerso used for pieces that have two or three layers under the clear outside layer, but whether this is just "ebay speak" or legitimate terminology I don't know.

I've never described anything like this as wrapped.  I think of that more like the strapping you get on Mdina   and Whitefriars.

But like Max's "halo" whether this is just my shorthand or true stuff, I really don't know.