Plateau

Unknown

16th century · Glass · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The decoration technique known as reticello—after the Italian word for network—consists of two superimposed layers of glass canes. Spiraling in different directions, the overlapping white threads create a sophisticated network of lines. This reticello plate has bubbles trapped between the layers, which is characteristic of the technique. Similar examples can be found in the princely glass collection of Rosenborg Castle in Denmark; on his visit to Venice in 1709, Frederick IV acquired a considerable quantity of glass, which reflected the height of Venetian craftsmanship at the time. Like the reticello plates at Rosenborg Castle, this plate is exceptionally large in size. The intricate decoration, made from 160 individual canes, would have caught the discerning eye of a collector like Moore.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th century

Medium

Glass

Culture

Italian, Venice (Murano)

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891