Victorian Style Pair of English Toilet Flasks Crystal Ground and Sterling Silver

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Before describing the object under consideration, we must make an important clarification; the artifact, one of many that we will publish over time, is part of the museum collection of a historic Florentine crystal grinder that unfortunately closed recently. It is the Marcello Galgani & Son company, whose completely manual and artisanal work has not withstood the disproportionate advance of mass-produced mechanical processes! Marcello Galgani began his craft as a grinder and restorer in 1960; as the years went by, Marcello mastered and became familiar with particular techniques and shapes, resulting in the production of objects that manage to retain the freshness of grinding and engraving, the warmth and softness of light, and the inimitable flavor of unique artifacts. After several years, his son Lorenzo, who grew up among crystals, also entered the business and immediately became passionate about this ancient craft with skill and ability. Stimulated by the aesthetic sense of the past, father and son, set up a workshop in which the shapes they researched and created themselves are mouth-blown by traditional Tuscan glassmakers in Empoli, then ground and engraved using ancient sixteenth-century techniques, with motifs born from the Galgani's inexhaustible imagination or culturally inspired by designs of objects seen and studied in Florentine museums (Uffizi, Galleria Palatina, Museo degli Argenti, etc.). Marcello and Lorenzo Galgani were also Masters in the difficult art of restoration, bringing rare and precious objects back to life. As mentioned the company recently closed and disposed of all its last production, and only Marcello's old private museum collection remained, which includes unique and special objects created over time, a collection that the craftsman made available to us for a planned sale. All of the objects were made entirely by hand with old grinding wheels, but there were mainly two tools that allowed the creation of masterpieces: the right hand and the left hand of the master craftsman. Ancient glassmaking techniques were used for all the ground and engraved products: first, the object was ground with an emery wheel fed continuously by a jet of abrasive sand and water, then re-polished with a very fine-grained sandstone wheel also fed with water; the engravings were done freehand using as many as 10-15 small stone wheels for each design (flowers, branches, animals, etc. ); then the object was polished and shined; we must make, at this point, an important clarification on these last two operations: towards the end of the 1960s acid crystal polishing was devised, the object was immersed and rotated in a solution of sulfuric acid, fluoridic acid and water and in a short time all the defects left by the previous processes were eliminated, it was a fast, industrial operation that allowed to lower costs considerably, with discrete but not excellent results. But for Galgani's products polishing is done with a cork bark wheel wet with water and pumice, to make the surfaces more transparent, and finally polishing was achieved with a felt wheel wet with a paste of water, iron oxide, and cerium oxide. This series of processes takes an average of two days of work( sometimes much longer) for each object, each engraving or grinding is the result of the creative inventiveness of the two artisans, inventiveness that transforms crystal into reality material of the highest aesthetic value and inestimable value. All the items in the entire collection have never been used; they were part of the exhibition. Huge and monumental Florentine Renaissance-style vase...

A fine and impressive antique Victorian English sterling silver scent flask; an addition to our ornamental silverware collection. This fine antique Vict...

Stunning Mid 19th Century Victorian sterling flask with floral motif and initials "THR." Sterling silver with engravings. Excellent patina. Period: Mid-19th century Origin: Continental Size: 5 1/2" Family Owned & Operated Cisco’s Gallery deals in the rare, exceptional, and one-of-a-kind pieces that define the history of America and the Old West. Our pieces range from American Indian to Cowboy Western and include original items of everyday life, commerce, art, and warfare that tamed America’s frontier. Our 14,000 square foot gallery opened in 1996 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Personal Service Cisco’s operates on old fashioned values – honesty and integrity, and all of our items are backed by our money back guarantee. We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business. Whether you desire assistance with a jewelry purchase, choosing a gift, identification, or even selling – we hope to be your trusted source. Cowboy and western old...