| Original Message: Re: Details |
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Dear Giorgio, The detail you mention that you were told at Venice is not credible. Placing a thin layer onto a cane—a process called "flashing" (in English) is not so difficult, and need not be costly. I am very surprised that anyone would say such a thing. That the Venetian beads shown have this layer and the Chinese specimens do not is pertinent only in this instance. There are probably many Venetian black-&-white flower canes that do not have a micro-thin exterior black layer. So this is a circumstantial expression. I would be more inclined to pay attention to the colors of the glass and the art-sense of the canes; and the technique of beadmaking (particularly the presence or absence of mandrel release compound and perforation size). Also, though I haven't seen enough of these very new Chinese beads yet, my initial response is that the technique is "better" than that of many Venetian beads—in the sense that the cane elements are well-fused, and the ends of the beads are well-formed. It might be difficult to capture/reproduce the typical look of many Venetian millefiori beads, when the torchworking practices being promoted demand good fusion and well-formed ends. Since this is very new work at China, we will have to continue to watch and see what develops. Jamey All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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