Hello Guild Members
I got a referral to your guild by Bullseye Glass. I have an interesting problem to solve.
I collect and sell mid century European and American ceramics. One of my favorite pieces is a 1950s Italian piece by Bitossi Ceramiche. The decor of the vase is called fritte, since glass has been added to the ceramic during firing. This is one of the earliest examples of fritte by Bitossi. The glass is rough, with uneven surfaces, bubbles and craquelle; that is part of its charm. Within each color square, the glass sometimes has mixtures of color and opacity. In one of the yellow squares, I believe a piece has cracked so completely as to have fallen out. This happened years ago and was crudely filled with painted plaster; I have removed that repair. I would be interested in having someone look at this vase and give an opinion on what it anything can be done to sensitively repair the glass. Luckily, the glass has so much variation, it makes it easier to match. My only idea so far would be to do a casting mold of the cavity and cast a piece of glass to fit, but I don’t know if that is possible. I would also be interested in working with someone to make the casting.
The vase is 14.5″ high and the cavity is 5/16″ in diameter. In the attached photo, the round cavity is at the center top of the right photo, in a yellow square.
Thanks so much for your time and consideration.
George Vogt, Portland, Oregon, vogt321@gmail.com
