Algidi by Davide G. Aquini
Ceramic and Lapis Specularis
— Algidi vases are part of the “Dark Ages” project for Milan Fuorisalone’17 in collaboration with Parco Regionale della Vena del Gesso Romagnola, Saint-Gobain PPC Italia and Apuana Corporate.
The main focus is to rediscover lapis specularis, a transparent gypsum easy to cut even with a knife, that was used by the ancient Romans for windows and greenhouses, and it has been forgotten, or confused with glass, during the Middle Ages.
— Algidi vases are hand made on a lathe without mold in Nove (Italy) by Luigi Bertolin. The rough appearance is simply obtained with a single baking of the ceramic traditionally called “biscotto”.
Thin slabs of lapis specularis are inserted in the vases, strengthening their primitive finishing. The geometric and classicist design cleverly contradicts the archaic look, generating a perfectly balanced and timeless result. Algidi are like modern canopic jars, a vaguely alien urns.
In this collection lapis specularis expresses its decorative value like a brand new precious stone that looks similar to ice, as translucent as quartz, as cold as glass and as iridescent as mother-of-pearl.
