Murano Art Glass: The World's Most Famous Art Glass
Murano Art Glass: The World's Most Famous Art Glass
he World's Most Famous Art Glass
If you collect vintage glass, I'd be willing to bet you've heard the name Murano before. And if you haven't, then you're about to. Murano Glass is by far the biggest name is glassmaking. But who is this Murano, and what makes his glass any better than any others? Let me enlighten you, my friend. First of all, Murano, is not any one person. The name Murano Glass refers to any glass that is made by the artisans on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon in Italy.
History
Before the year 1291, the Murano glassmakers were spread around the city of Venice in Italy. But a law passed that year which required all glasshouses located within the city of Venice be moved to the island of Murano to protect the city from the heightened risks of fires at glasshouses. Oddly enough, in the year 1295, another law passed which made it illegal for the artisans to even leave the islands! The impressive evolution of their craft has often been attributed to their isolation and the fact that glassmaking is usually a craft passed down through generations of masters who refuse to reveal any of the secrets of their methods.
Innovations in Glassmaking
The glass masters of Murano are responsible for many of the methods of glassmaking that are still favorites of collectors today. Some of those are discussed here.
Aventurine Glass
Aventurine is a remarkable golden glittery, shimmering glass that was reportedly discovered completely by accident in the 15th century. It is also know as goldstone glass and appears to have tiny shards of gold throughout. To identify aventurine glass, hold the piece to the light and observe the crystals within the glass. All of them should be facing the same way and reflecting light.
Glass Beads
Venetian Glass Beads were first introduced as early as the 13th century and were called veriselli beads and were made to imitate the look of gemstones. Paternostri, which are more commonly known as Rosary beads, have been dated back as early as 1338. Margarite beads are the ones that most closely resemble the glass beads of modern day jewelry making.
Calcedonio
Calcedonio is a marbled glass that was created in the 1400s by Angelo Barovier, who is regarded as Murano's greatest glassmaker. It resembled the semiprecious stone, chalcedony, which is where it gets its name.
Chandeliers
In the 1700s, Guiseppe Briati became famous for his work with ornamented mirrors and chandeliers. The style of chandeliers created by Briati were call ciocche, which means bouquet of flowers. They were used for interior lighting in theaters and in important rooms of palaces.
Cristallo
Cristallo glass is a soda glass that was created in 1453 and at that time it was considered to be "Europe's clearest glass". Cristallo glass in part was a reason for Murano's rise to fame.
Filigrana
Filigrana, or filigree, was developed in Murano in the 1500s and had a striped appearance. Vetro a fill are sraight white stripes, vetro a retortoli has twisted or spiraled patterns, and vetro a reticello has two sets of lines twisted in opposite directions.
Lattimo
Lattimo glass, also known as opaline glass, is a milky, or semi-opaque white glass with pink or blue iridescence, similar in appearance to opal or moonstone. It was developed in Murano in the 15th century and is often found decorated with gold or blue enamel.
Millefiori
Millefiori translates to "a thousand flowers" and is a complex and intensive process that originated with the Phoenicians. True to its name says, Millefiori resembles thousands of multicolored flowers fused together.
Mirrors
Mirrors were first seen in Murano as early as the 1500s and in high demand by the 1600s. However, by 1772, only one glasshouse in Murano was still making mirrors, as many consumers felt the English made better mirrors.
Murrine
Murrine begins with the layering of colored liquid glass heated to exactly 1040 degrees Celsius and then stretching it into long rods called canes. After cooling, the canes are sliced in cross sections, revealing their layered patterns.
Sommerso
Sommerso means "submerged" in Italian and much like the name suggests this type of glass involves layering two or more contrasting colors of glass and then the outermost layer is usually clear giving the appearance of a colored glass piece being submerged into the clear glass. The technique was developed in the 1930s and popular to use in vases, as well as some sculptures.
Popularity of Murano Glass
The Murano Glass market is nearly half made up of pieces of counterfeit glass. This prompted Murano Glass makers to introduce a certification system for their work in 1980 and to also provide a certificate of authenticity with every piece made after that date. A trademark was also created in 1994, and by 2012, it was being used by over 50 companies.
Lastly, I'll leave you with some of the most popular vintage Murano Glass pieces out there just waiting to be found...
Murano Glass is known as the standard for craftmanship of fine art glass worldwide and for good reason given the many contributions of their artisans throughout history. Do you own a piece of Murano Glass? Let me know in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed this post on the world's most famous art glass, Murano Glass.
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