Antique Jewellery
Antique Fiorate or Wedding Cake Glass Beads Necklace. Gold and Silver Foil. Venice or Murano
We will rely on Gianni Moretti, in his book “A Century of Venetian Beads,” to clarify this type of bead: The “fiorata con vette d’oro” (the flower bead, often referred to as a wedding cake, with gold vette) is notably challenging to produce. The craftsman begins by pulling the vette (a thin filament of crystal glass) to a precise thickness of one millimetre. Next, a delicate sheet measuring 10 cm x 10 cm of gold or silver leaf is placed on a leather cushion and meticulously cut into 40 strips, each 2.5 mm wide. The crystal vette is then wetted with saliva, allowing the fine strip of gold to adhere. This vette, measuring no more than 9 or 10 cm, decorates the bead. This bead is exceptionally delicate and will degrade over time; friction against skin or fabric inevitably causes the gold leaf to wear away. In older beads, you will find only remnants of gold leaf (see pages 52/53).
The necklace we have available for sale is in good condition, with minimal wear on the decoration, indicating it has rarely been used. Please refer to the photos. This piece can be accurately dated to the late 19th or early 20th century, consisting of 31 beads with a gold clasp. Do not confuse this exquisite work with the “fiorate” made from aventurine glass. Those are significantly easier to produce and more durable, but they do not possess the same level of appeal.
Dimensions:
– Length: 59 cm.
-Weight: 79 grams
Returns will only be accepted if the item is damaged, faulty, or fails to match the description provided in the listing.
1.000,00€
- Import duties, sales taxes (vat) and other charges are not included in the item prices or in the shipping charges.
- These charges are under the buyer’s responsibility.
- Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be, before buying.
- If you are not satisfied of your purchase, we accept return within 14 days for a full refund, less postage.
- Please look carefully to our pictures and read sizes and weight, because pictures are oversized to show lacks and values.
- We do not accept to undervalue our items.
- Please do not pay before receiving the final invoice including shipping fees.
- We’ll ship out of Europe purchases over euro 100,00 ONLY by FedEx courier. Insurance on demand.
- Our items are vintage or antique and will show signs of age.
- However we will point out any damage or fault.
- Please look at our pictures, they are extremely precise, but they are just pictures, so colors could change from monitor to monitor.
- If you have any doubt about colors, please call us or write to us for any information.
- Please email us for any questions or additional photos.
- Although the utmost care is taken with packing and dispatch; all items are sent at owner’s risk.
