Terms and conditions of use
Ewer
(mid 16th century)
Medium
glass (vetro a retorti decoration)
Measurements
16.6 × 14.2 × 9.4 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of Mrs Margaret Stewart, Founder Benefactor, 1987
Gallery location
16th & 17th Century Gallery - Painting and Sculpture
Mezzanine linked to Level 1, NGV International
About this work
This ewer represents one of the most sophisticated examples of the vetro a retorti (glass with twists) technique. The body and pedestal comprise three different bands of designs of varying complexity that alternate around the vessel. The glassblower would have laid out rods of cristallo with the embedded decoration side by side and collected them on a glass gather (a mass of clear glass on the end of the blow pipe) before fusing the rods in the kiln and blowing and shaping them into this complex form. The ewer’s body and foot would have been blown separately and joined by the clear glass knop.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
(Venice, Italy / Catalonia, Spain)
Accession Number
D80-1987
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited