Italian Mandruzzato Style Ashray in Submerged Glass, 1964

Massive and distinctive Murano glass ashtray, has a strong line, with sharp, decisive cuts and very accentuated edges; the color is an exceptional cobalt blue with graceful shades of blue obtained with cobalt oxide and a small amount of copper oxide. The ashtray was created between 1964 and 1968, in a small furnace in Murano (Italy) run by former Master Glassmakers of the Mandruzzato company who made the ashtray following the company's own style and using precisely the "vetro sommerso" technique. "Sommerso" was first devised in Murano in the late 1930s, but it became popular in the 1950s thanks to the skill and inventiveness of Murano's master craftsmen. The "vetro sommerso” technique is that workmanship which, starting from a blown or solid glass, allows to obtain several overlapping layers of different colors with striking color effects, this is possible by immersing the glass being worked in crucibles with different colors; in this case, on the other hand, the clear glass that came out of the kiln was placed in a single crucible containing, as already mentioned, cobalt oxide and copper, which gave the glass this beautiful and striking blue color; the operation is not simple and is performed only by very experienced Master Glassmakers. After this step, the master glassmaker helping himself with special smooth tools gave the linear and geometric shape to our ashtray, which once cooled down went on to the delicate phase of flattening and polishing by hand with cork wheels, operations that allowed the surfaces to be perfectly flattened, polished and shiny in an exceptional way. The ashtray is in good condition. Measures diameter cm.16 height cm.9.