Battuto

This is a type of glass whose surface has a homogeneous set of grindings of variable depth, slightly irregular, in imitation of hammered branches. The first examples of this type of process go back to the early nineteen hundreds in France, at the Daum works, with the "martelé" vases. In Murano the technique enjoyed great favour at Venini & Co., on the part of Carlo Scarpa, who was the first to design a series of items with elementary shapes executed in coloured transparent glass. In the late 50s, Venini & Co. produced another series of items, designed by Tobia Scarpa, Carlo's son, that met with a huge success with the critics and the public as well. In the 60s the "battuto" was used by Alfredo Barbini to finish some vases of highly plastic shapes, designed by Napoleone Martinuzzi.