Artistic vase from Saint-Prex ref 122 OC in blue glass with gold craquelures

The pieces with crackled gold or silver decoration are probably the best-known from Verrerie de Saint-Prex. Green glass - the same glass used for bottles - is used to create these objects, as colorless, brown or turquoise glass is more rarely used for this type of production. Each piece is first glazed in transparent blue, then painted with gold or silver brushes. Irregular cracks appear during the firing process, which fixes the decoration. This is due to the difference in melting point between the enamel and the gold or silver layer (temperature variations lead to random cracks of varying size and spacing). In most cases, the gold or silver completely covers the outside of the piece, the inside remaining blue and the background revealing the original color of the glass.

A r t i s t i c l e v e r r e d e S a i n t - P r e x (1928-1964)

MUSÉE ARIANA, GENEVA, NOVEMBER 25, 2014 TO J ANUARY 17, 2016