Smalti is handmade glass colored with mineral oxides, poured into molten slabs, then cooled and hand-cut into tesserae (small tiles). Mosaic artists choose smalti glass mosaic tile for its thickness, durability, and exceptionally luminous colors. The hand-cut surface of MDM smalti reflects light in countless brilliant facets, or it can be ground and polished to a smooth finish.
Smalti was popular during Roman and Byzantine eras, and mosaics made of smalti and stone tesserae decorated the floors and walls of Roman baths and Byzantine churches, basilicas, and mosques. Mosaic artists were skilled in "painting" a mosaic scene with fine gradations of colored glass available at that time. The art of coloring glass into thousands of hues was revived in Murano, Italy, in the nineteenth century.
Today, MDM is the only mosaic smalti maker in Murano, an island-city close to Venice. MDM produces an impressive standard palette with 291 standard colors of mosaic smalti, and thousands more colors are available by special order. MDM's owner, Stefano Donà, is a third-generation glass artisan who colors his smalti using recipes handed down through his family. MDM smalti glass tiles are exceptionally durable, with a high sheen, and are appropriate for both architectural and artistic projects.
The MDM gold leaf smalti offered by di Mosaico provides the superior quality and durability of hand-poured glass. A thin layer of 24-carat gold leaf is placed on top of poured glass, and another layer of molten glass is poured on top. The pouring process offers a better fusing of the layers than the manufactured process of sandwiching gold leaf between plates of glass and heating in an oven.
Please visit our on-line store to purchase mosaic smalti and gold leaf tile, along with mosaic stone tesserae and mosaic supplies and tools.
