GLASS NUGGETS — Small glass "blobs" with flat bases, which come in a range of colours and finishes, such as transparent, sand-blasted or iridescent.
GLASS PASTE — Coloured glass made opaque by the addition of raw silica. Is it rougher than smalti.
Glaze — Glassy substance used to cover tiles in order to make them impervious to water, as well as for decoration. Glazes can be transparent, translucent, opaque, glossy or matt. They are applied to a biscuit tile by dipping, painting or spraying, and then the tile is fired for a second time.
GOLD LEAF — Thin gold foil embedded between two layers of coloured, transparent glass. It is possible to create different gold shades by using coloured glass.
Goutou — A round glazed earthenware ornament concealing the ends of glazed Chinese roof tiles.
GRADATION — Tesserae which form a gradual chromatic succession.
GRANIGLIA / GRANULATO — Marble chips of different sizes and colours scattered at random on Venetian terrazzo floors.
GRANULOMETRY — The measurement of the size of marble chips.
GRINDING — Second last phase of terrazzo and mosaic floor production. It is carried out using a polishing machine with grindstones of different granulometry, from coarse to fine.
GRINDSTONE — A piece of sandstone or of abrasive material. A wheel of various dimensions and thicknesses used to grind and polish, and to sharpen the mosaic hammer.
GROUT — A mixture of coloured cement and water with oxides or sand. It is used to fill the interstices between tiles and tesserae, also in the reverse method on paper to grout the back of the mosaic sheets before installation.
GROUTING — The process of filling in the gaps between tiles or mosaic tesserae. It should be seen as an integral part of the design as grout not only protects tiles or mosaic but unifies the design into a whole.
GYPSUM PLASTER — A non-hydraulic binder produced by grinding and burning gypsum rock. There are two types of gypsum plaster: hemihydrate plaster, which sets in a few minutes when mixed with water, and anhydrous calcium sulphate, which sets more slowly and is used to make casts and stucco decorations.
