smalto

plural smalti

1. A piece of coloured glass used in mosaic.

   This is done by striking the smalto with a sharp-edged hammer, directly over a similar edge, placed vertically beneath.

   1848, The Yearbook of Facts in Science and Art, Simpkin, Marshall, and Company, page 86

   2 more examples

   The smalto is thus broken as far as possible into the form desired, and it is afterwards ground with emery powder upon a lead wheel until the precise size and form are obtained.

   1857, “The applications of improved machinery and materials to art-manufacture”, in The Art Journal, page 112

   Press the smalti into the adhesive in a rainbow pattern along the frame, with as small a gap as possible between the pieces.

   2005, Reham Aarti Jacobsen, Mosaics for the First Time, page 38