Hong Kong Builder
17
In the December, 1935, issue of the Builder, we published an article on Venetian Mosaic, explaining its origin, its manufacture and its employment in modern decoration. At the time it was explained that one of the main reasons for the very limited use of this material was the cost involved in the production of this work and the necessity for very skilled labour for its proper execution.
With the ever-increasing call for bright colours in modern decoration to contrast with the sobriety of present-day design, a new material-Vitreous Venetian Mosaic so far but little known in the Far East, has been introduced into this market from Europe, or, to be more exact, from Venice, the world's leading industrial centre for Mosaic.
The difference between this recent product and the original Venetian Mosaic lies mainly in the chemical composition, which, in Venetian Mosaic, is glass mixed with metallic oxides and enamels, while for Vitreous Mosaic ordinary glass paste is used in combination with dyes, treated SO as to produce a non-transparent composition, in which the colours have been thoroughly mixed. By this process a great variety of colours, about two hundred and twenty in all, can be obtained, placing at the disposal of the decorator every imagin- able shade and hue.
VITREOUS
MOSAICS
Illustrations of two stairways in Vitreous Mosaic. (Left) Staircase to Private Residence in Milan. (Below) Staircase in Post Office in Trieste.
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