Topic: Would this be pasta glass?

[TxSilver]

Fratelli Toso makes many paperweights that have grounds made of pasty appearing glass. Is this type of glass pasta? I have attached a picture of one of the paperweights. I have owned many of these weights, but was never sure what term to use for the glass.

Anita

[shandiane78]

I've never heard of pasta glass, but this almost looks like what they call sulphide? Of course, I knwow nothing about that either, so I should probably just keep my trap shut.   

[Springhead]

Yeah... pasta glass is loaded with calcium compounds calcium carbonate I suspect.

That is what it looks like. Though I've never heard the term associated with paperweights.

Sulphides are metallic looking figurines embedded in glass.

[Anne]

An example of pasta glass on Laura's website HERE - on a vase not a paperweight though, and another on Javier's site HERE - again not a weight, but it gives you the idea of how it looks.

[Lustrousstone]

Sulphides are ceramic plaques or figurines embedded in glass

[aa]

I've never come across this term*. Of course that doesn't mean that it is incorrect. But I suspect it is not in common use and although I'm guessing, I have a feeling that with the possible exception of one or two Murano glassmakers who might have used this term, it is in fact a description created or misapplied by collectors or dealers after the event, so to speak.

The vase shown on Laura's site is described as having "pasta glass bands". I find that a little surprising, since to most glassmakers, all over the world, these are "trails" or possibly in the US a glassmaker would refer to the one on the rim as a "wrap". I'm certainly not averse to being contradicted on this as I know that Laura has much more expertise in area than I do.

I can see why the figure on Javier's site could be described as "pasta" because it looks as of it could have been assembled from different types of pasta. There is a niggling memory at the back of my mind regarding that type of figure being described as pasta before, but the point I'm getting at is was this the original marketing term or has it become a generic description later?

I wonder if ArtofVenice has an opinion on this and could shed some light on the description and when and where it originated.

*but I will go through all my Italian books tonight and have a look, if I remember!

[Leni]

This site about Venetian beads refers to 'pasta glass' decoration on one variety of beads, but it doesn't give any hints as to what it is.    From the picture, it just appears to be 'trails' again!  :spls:  http://perle-veneziane.com/Beads%20Gallery/decoration.html  (Look for 'Pagliaccio' beads)

So we can see what it was generally used for, but still don't know exactly what it was made from!  :huh:   

[TxSilver]

There are a few examples of pasta vitrea for Scarpa and Martinuzzi in the Olnick-Spanu collection online. The link is http://www.olnickspanu.com/Collection.html. I don't know how it is made. The texture looks similar to Fratelli Toso's black nerox glass to me, so I thought it might be made in the same way. The textures look pasty. It is what made me wonder if the pasty looking glass in the Toso paperweights that are like the one I showed above are pasta vitrea.

Anita

[KevinH]

The paperweight shows signs of less-than-perfect temperaure control during the making. It has many "wreathing" lines in the dome. It is therefore possible that the blue coating of the ground was also affected, producing a rather pitted surface. This in turn has resulted in air bubbles being formed when the first coating of clear was applied to the blue.

I don't imagine the weight was made as an example of any particular type of decorative technique.

[TxSilver]

I believe that the concentric form of the dome may be done on purpose. I attached a picture of another Fratelli Toso paperweight with the pasty looking glass. When one has the weights in hand, they give a moon rock type of look. The paperweight shown below reminds me of the moon with a large crater filled with millefiori. The canes look out of focus from above because of the concentric wreathing of the dome, but at a 45 degree angle, it gives a beyond-world appearance. I wondered if it was the look FT was going for.

Both weights I've shown are blue, but the weights are done in at least one other color. I had a lavender one, also.

Anita