As stated by M, earlier, Sibylle Jargstorf gave an opinion that the Latin word “pila” could not only translate as “balls” or “columns” but also as “recipients”. And by “recipients” she was alluding to “little buckets” [cups, vessels etc.?] and “small bowls”. The implication, in the way I read it, is that the “Venetian balls” of Sabellico (c1495) were therefore not actually the “conglomerated mass” that Pellatt wrote about in 1849 but were simply the millefiori canes decorating some “vessels” of the 15th century. If that is true then Pellatt’s illustrated “Venetian ball” may not have been as early as the 15th century.
Some of the literature indicates that the early “Venetian balls” were attributed (by museums etc.) through cane matching to “known wares” including cups, bowls etc.[vessels], from around the 15th / 16th / 17th centuries. And that would reasonably fit with Jargstorf’s idea.
Whether Sabellico, the Venetian historian who wrote the Latin term “… brevi pila …” actually meant “little balls” or “little columns” or “little bowls and things [vessels]” is still not settled – at least, not in the literature. So, in preference to Google translate and various online Latin dictionaries, I checked a Latin-English dictionary that I just happen to have at home: Cassell’s Latin Dictionary, 1955 edition, first published 1887. It gives …
Latin
1. pila – a mortar
2. pila – a pillar
3. pila – a ball (I – a ball to play with; II – any ball or sphere-shaped substance, a balloting ball)
English
a) mortar = a vessel, pila, mortarium
b) pillar, columen, pila (=support for a bridge, etc.), columna (= column)
c) ball, 1, pila; 2, the __ of the earth, terrae globus; the eye__, pupilla; a musket __, lapis (as thrown by a ballista); 3, = a dance, saltatio
This appears to give credence to Jargstorf’s thought. The meaning of “mortar / a vessel” [bucket, bowl etc.] is certainly included. And if the entries in the dictionary are weighted by primary usage, then “pila = a mortar” is the primary meaning. But does “mortar” really translate into “vessel”, in the sense of a millefiori decorated bowl or cup etc?
No other author that I am aware of has made the link that Jargstorf did. Other authors touch on the “sphere / column” question, ignoring the “vessel” idea, but without definite conclusion. However, Hollister, in
The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights, page 12, says in reference to the Sabellico text:
(Translation by Paul Perrot Three Centuries of Venetian Glass, Corning, New York, 1958, p.17.) Perrot says, “The word ‘ball’ might refer to a type similar to the late 15th century enamelled millefiori globe at the Sigmaringen Museum, Germany, or it could be translated as ‘column’ and refer to the millefiori canes themselves.”
The idea of “column” meaning “length of [millefiori] cane” is mentioned by various authors. And it would tie in with Jargstorf’s idea. But others seem to favour a meaning of “pedestal” or “stand”, which seems odd to me because it would suggest that some people believe Sabellico’s “… brevi pila …” were all “little stands”! [I will have to review those references, as the idea of “little stands” does not make sense to me.]
Topic: Apsley Pellatt Curiosities of Glassmaking 1849-Venetian Ball & French Millefiori (Read 12170 times)
