De Allegri and Fogale
Andrea Zilio of Anfora

Using old-fashioned types of decoration usually reserved for larger vessels because of the complexity involved in their application, this series of six goblets, one carafe and one plate is extraordinary for its wide range of colours and many glass-blowing techniques. There is filigrana (canes of clear glass with a stripe of colour inside), canne (canes of solid colour), sfumatura (two colours meeting, gradually intensifying as they part), macchie di colore (coloured spots), and iridazione (smoke applied during the molten phase to obtain an opaque, iridescent surface). “These pieces are exceptions to the way we make glass today,” says Andrea Zilio. “Each has a different colour, which is a matter of importance, because we usually make but one colour per day. 

Each piece is unique in its decorations, meaning much time is needed to craft it.” When Fogale and de Allegri went to visit the Anfora glassworks, they discovered the company had started out in the 1970s making thin, traditional stemware. As time passed, there was more demand for big, contemporary vases. “For Doppia Firma, we wanted to go back to their origins. Each goblet has the same base, blown into a wooden mould, but then cut at a different height, changing the proportions. The cup is blown by hand, giving it a more organic shape, demonstrating Andrea’s amazing skills. The theme here is the foggy, wet and humid atmosphere that Venice has in common with London. Transparent meets opaque by blowing white glass on top of transparent, and a wet-looking shimmer is used as a stain.”