Technique

The technique Riccardo Toso Borella uses to create his works is called “Graffito“, which involves precise engraving on gold leaf applied to glass. Some examples of artifacts created with this technique date back to ancient Rome. Venice, with its close ties to Byzantium from its origins, became fertile ground for inheriting this artistic heritage.

Beyond the artisanal aspect of the technique lies continuous conceptual labor. This is what elevates what I do to “Art.”

The technique with which Riccardo Toso Borella creates his works is known as “Graffito” and consists of the precise engraving of gold leaf applied to glass. Some examples of objects made using this technique date back to ancient Rome. Venice, closely connected to Byzantium since its origins, proved to be fertile ground for inheriting and preserving this artistic heritage.

As described in Artists Techniques and Materials, Getty Publications, 2006, the technique of gold glass originated in Pharaonic Egypt, was highly valued during the Early Christian period, and was rediscovered among Bohemian artisans from the second half of the seventeenth century onwards. The terms “gold glass” and “gold-ground glass” describe a type of decoration commonly used in the third and fourth centuries AD to adorn cups, drinking vessels and luxury objects. Gold leaf, placed between two layers of transparent glass, carried inscriptions and depicted portraits, biblical scenes or mythological subjects.

In modern applications of this ancient technique, a layer of smalt, grease and turpentine oil is first applied, combining to form a highly adhesive mixture. It is left to rest until, when lightly touched, it produces a distinctive sound known as “singing glass.” Gold leaf is then applied over the viscous layer, engraved with a needle and decorated with enamel. The glass sheet is subsequently placed in a muffle kiln and fired at 530°C, a temperature at which the oils contained in the adhesive evaporate and the gold becomes firmly fused to the glass surface.