Nancy's Dining Room

Vase Cobalt

Flatware of Rosenthal Products

Rosenthal has long had the Suomi pattern(read below) but in 2006, on the 80th birthday of the original designer, they teamed up with Atelier LZC, best known for their popular “scissor cut style” and gave birth to the “Celebration” pattern. Adding the gold and silver design turned a pattern I didn’t care for into one I really like.

The Rosenthal studio-line enters new territory with the “in.gredienti” range. Now the focal point becomes the plates’ functionality. Form follows function. The highly individual plates have been designed especially for differing meal requirements. The concept embodies the trend for more individuality as well as that of celebrating food. This set will appeal to the increasing number of ambitious hobby chefs, who are both knowledgeable and appreciate high quality cooking utensils. This quality is guaranteed by the Rosenthal name and the “Made in Germany” seal.

Rosenthal’s long established and highly successful “Suomi” porcelain shape was designed by the Finnish designer Timo Sarpaneva in 1976, represents a milestone in the Rosenthal Studio-Line history. Studio Dror designed the “Vase of Phases” series for Rosenthal. The collection was launched at the Ambiente 05 in Frankfurt in white. Please purchase on online www.etabletop.com

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Representing Rosenthal in the website www.etabletop.com

The Origins Of Glass Art

Cut glass and glass blowing production came from ancient techniques and were gradually refined over the ages. Cut glass objects were used as commodities, gifts, and jewelry in past millennia. Today exquisite cut crystal is sought after for its heirloom qualities and gifting allure.

Natural glass, like obsidian, is a dense volcanic glass, and has been used by man for millennia. To early man, obsidian glass was an extremely rare and valuable commodity, Because of the way volcanic glass fractures, sharp edges occur. This inherent quality of natural cut glass was put to use and was often made into sharp spear points and blades.

Man-made rudimentary glass was made from silica sand, plant ash and lime. Over time it was discovered that if glass was heated until it became semi-liquid, it may be molded or shaped and left to cool into a solid new piece or vessel. In ancient times glass pieces were valued as a substitute for precious stones, gems, and gifts.

During first century BC, the craft of melting and blowing glass into useable objects was developed. Glass pieces and items gradually became more common after the discovery of glassblowing. Objects such as vases, bottles, and cruets were mouth blown and mold blown during the Roman Empire, usually for ordinary purpose and daily use.

Common glass normally has a greenish hue. The green tint is caused by miniscule amounts of iron impurities in the sand used to make glass. Glass producers learned to make decorative and colored glass by adding metallic compounds and mineral oxides such as cobalt. Colored glass of reds, blues and greens became prevalent. After craftsmen learned to score and cut glass, they found clear glass refracted light in spectacular fashion. Thus, clear cut glass became popular, and demand for colored glass plummeted.

Around 1000 AD, a new development was made in glassmaking. The glass making component of soda-lime, was replaced by potash obtained from wood ashes. From this time on, glass from the northern part of Europe differed greatly from that made in the Mediterranean area, where soda-lime remained in common use. Centuries later in Bohemia, ashes from beech trees were used. The production of Bohemian “forest glass” was progressively refined over the years.

During the 11th century new ways of making sheet glass came about in Germany. Glass blowers would blow spheres, and then form them into cylinders. They would cut the glass while still hot and then flatten the glass into sheets. Glass makers in Venice, Italy improved this method in 13th century. By the late 1300′s there was as many as 20 glassworks in Bohemia and Moravia. The 12th century saw the arrival of stained glass production. Stained glass, another form of colored glass, was made by adding metal impurities. Church and monastery applications of stained glass can be traced back to examples that remain today, i.e. St. Bartholomew church in Kolin. A glass wall mosaic is preserved there from around 1380.

Venice became the dominant center for glassmaking during the 14th century. Here new glass making methods were developed and export trade such as mirrors, tableware, and decanters flourished. Secrets of glass making were highly guarded in Venice, but eventually glass workers moved to other areas of Europe taking their knowledge and skill with them. As ornate glassworks became more popular, Royalty began ordering decorative glass articles to be made, to give as gifts of distinction for occasions.

A technique called “the Crown glass process” was used to make glass until the mid part of the 1800s. A glassblower would spin around 9 lbs of molten glass at the end of a rod until it spread out into a flat disk nearly 5 feet across. The glass disk would then be cut into panes. Glass from Venice was highly prized for over four centuries as they managed to keep this technique secret. In 1688, a method for casting glass was invented. This led to glass and glass panes in becoming a much more common material. The glass pressing machine was invented in 1827 and facilitated mass production of relatively inexpensive glass items. The glass pioneer, William J. Blenko, is recognized as first glass producer in America to use the cylinder method of creating flat glass by the 1920s.

The Bohemian countries of Czech and Slovakia are still known today as two of the finest cut glass and cut crystal producers in the world. Cut crystal pieces are prized as elegant anniversary and birthday gifts.

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Sheila Golden ‘Cobalt Vase’ Gallery-wrapped Canvas Art $56.99 Artist: Sheila GoldenTitle: Cobalt VaseProduct Type: Gallery-wrapped canvas art–ready to hang

Sheila Golden ‘Cobalt Vase with Purple’ Canvas Art $54.99 Artist: Sheila GoldenTitle: Cobalt Vase with PurpleProduct type: Gallery-wrapped canvas art

Ceramic ‘Blue Kaleidoscope’ Vase (Mexico) $180.99 The florid kaleidoscope on this cobalt and turquoise vase honors the legendary elegance of Mexican artistry. Javier Servin designs this ceramic vase with a hand-painted composition that creates a raised texture.

Ceramic ‘Golden Constellation’ Vase (Mexico) $45.99 Orange flowers blossom amid a diamond constellation in the fascinating design of this vase by Mexico’s Checuan Hernandez. He adorns the vase with his original openwork style, which he surrounds with magnificently painted flowers and a cobalt blue brim.