Rigati e tessuti

The rigato and tessuto glass can be considered Carlo Scarpa ’s original interpretation of the rod glass (i.e. filigree glass) and consists of multi-coloured glass rods. 
Exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1938, the Rigati series was the first rod glass series and included plates and small bowls with thin cold-joined rods of alternated colours (i.e. dark green and black).

The rods were subsequently hot-joined and shaped into the desired design by using open moulds or glassmaker tools. 
In 1940, Scarpa presented the new tessuto glass series. Unlike the rigato glass, the tessuto glass was blown, not iridised, and featured lively colours. To reduce working times, small bunches of rods in alternated colours were prepared beforehand. Once hot-joined, the glassmaker rolled the “fabric” (tessuto) into a cylindrical object and shaped it using a blowpipe. The tessuto doppio (double fabric) glass is a rare variation obtained by blowing the rod glass into other rod glass of different colour, and was never manufactured in large scale owing to the high production costs. 
The typical thickness of the tessuto sommerso glass is due to the submersion of the rod glass into clear uncoloured glass.

 

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Credits: Lestanzedelvetro