Giovanni Franchini Glass and Silver Micro-Mosaic Set of Earrings and a Pendant

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Giovanni Franchini Glass and Silver Micro-Mosaic Set of Earrings and a Pendant

About the Item

A set consisting of a pair of earrings and a pendant made of a glass micro-mosaic lion on a circular black background. Weight earrings: 3.79 grams Dimensions earrings: 3.6 x 1.6 cm Weight pendant: 5.71 grams Dimensions pendant: 3.6 x 2.6 cm Giovanni Franchini embraced creative and technical innovations. As a beadmaking artisan, he had the knowledge and skills for making glass beads with a variety of coloured patterns from a single cane, which is called a murrine. A pattern emerges when the cylinder is cut into thin cross-sections. One familiar style is the flower shape which, when used together in large numbers from several different canes is called millefiori. This technique was already practiced in Phoenician times. Remarkably, Franchini invented a new type of murrine. Instead of joining the different colours through adhesion, he prepared the glass by fusing the colours in advance. In this way canes could be drawn from which murrines with mosaic like decorations in one piece could be cut. This technique was exceedingly difficult in the preparatory stage, but when successful the murrine was more solid, durable, and easier to produce in larger runs. Franchini raised the designs to a higher level by making complex geometrical patterns and then came up with the idea of creating figurative motifs, such as gondolas which were particularly popular with wealthy families visiting Venice. His son Giacomo gained fame with meticulous portraits of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Napoleon III. The head of the lion in these earrings and brooch is a fine example of the invention of the Franchini family. Here it is part of a little micro-mosaic and encased in goldstone, a type of glittering glass with copper in it presumably invented by the 17th-centrury Miotti family and said to give hope, courage and positive energy.

Creator:
Giacomo Franchini
Metal:
Silver
Sold As:
Set of 3
Style:
Victorian
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
Late 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
19th century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Amsterdam, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1239516252