From Design to Creation
Every year Salviati is presented with thousands of drawings by designers and architects who wish to collaborate with the company. The more difficult and challenging the design is, the more likely it is to make it into production. Once a design is selected, it is discussed with the production manager, the master glassmaker and, on occasion, the added input of a chemist and a mould-maker. Venetian glass is composed out of soda and silica. The soda gives a “long” glass, which allows the glass-master to work and model it for longer periods of time. The glass mix is melted in big pots called “crogioli”, and there is one pot for each color.
1 Medium “Bud” Vase
Salviati Collection
2 Amber Glass “Battuto” Vase
Salviati Collection
3 Water Glasses Assortment,
Set of 6, Salviati Collection
Glass workers are usually organized in teams of four people: the “maestro”(master), his “serventi” (first assistants) and “serventini” (second assistants). For such a team to work successfully requires a tremendous amount of dexterity, co-ordination and strength.
Pierre Rohatyn, one of the brand’s current owners tells us about Salviati’s artisans “All of our artisans learned their craft from preceding generations. We have two generations of masters currently at the ‘Vetreria’, which keeps things in constant development; the younger learning from the elder and, interestingly, the opposite, as well.”
Salviati pieces tend to focus on contrast, such as contrasting colors, types of glass - transparent paired with opaque glass-, and types of surface, as in shiny juxtaposed with matte.
Preserving the Craft
On the subject of preserving craftsmanship, Rohatyn, comments “Keeping the skills alive is extraordinarily difficult, these days. Our approach is really quite simple. We try to have an atmosphere at the ‘Vetreria’ that induces people to want to come and work with us. It is surprisingly effective. Also, we take on visiting artists and masters who want to develop their skills and in the future, we are planning on establishing a training program for masters who later will integrate the ‘Vetreria,’ full-time.”
