it / en
it / en

The magic of a breath

History of Murano glassmaking
Some events happen by accident, yet they change the course of history. Actions done unintentionally have led to landmark discoveries. It was in this way that the Phoenicians first created glass. In fact, according to Pliny the Elder, the Punic people had accidentally melted silica sand and obtained a substance similar to liquid honey. They quickly learned to use this molten material by adding soda to the silica, allowing it to melt at lower temperatures. From Carthage, the production of glass expanded to Egypt, and to Rome. The Romans began to produce glass on a large scale. So much so, that the domus of wealthy patricians even had glass in all their windows!
 
During the Middle Ages, Byzantium was the greatest producer of glass. Later, after the fall of the capital of the Holy Roman Empire of the East, the Republic of Venice held this primacy. The Venetians mastered the technique of glassblowing and quickly imposed themselves in the trade of pottery, bottles, and stained glass that stood out for great artistic quality.
Vase in black and white canes
D. Martens for A.Ve.M.
1950s
Chiacchiera vase
Toots for Venini
1984
Numerous furnaces arose in the lagoon city but, at a time when all city buildings were built of wood, these caused quite a few fire problems. So in 1291 a decreet by Doge Pietro Gradenigo had all the glassworks transferred to the Island of Murano, which would forever since be known as the Island of Glass. Over the centuries, glassmaking became so important to the Venetian economy that those who made these glassy masterpieces enjoyed lots of privileges and, at the same time, had strict obligations to their city. In order to guard the secrets of their techniques within the confines of the lagoon, in fact, they were forbidden to leave the island without a special permit.
Over time, the technique of glassmaking progressed until the creation of Venetian Crystal, the first truly transparent glass. This was achieved in the 15th century by master Angelo Barovier. Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Murano production took on characters of true virtuosity and, thanks to the continual invention of new working techniques, Venetian glass entered all European courts.
 
With the fall of the Serene Republic of Venice in 1797, particularly with Austrian rule, Murano glass experienced a real crisis, due in part to competition of glass from Bohemia, which the Habsburgs favored. The first half of the nineteenth century saw the closure of many furnaces and the massive migration of glass masters with the consequent spread of processing secrets and the impoverishment of production techniques.
Arlecchina
A. Nason for A.Ve.M.
1950s
Veronese vase
C.V.M.
1910s
Towards the end of the 19th century, like a phoenix, Murano rose again and began a new season, regaining extraordinary mastery, and the manufacture of luxury objects flourished once more. Numerous furnaces were opened, including "Vetri artistici F.lli Barovier, " "Salviati & C., " "Seguso Vetri d'Arte, " and "Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Cappellin Venini e C. "
 
Throughout the twentieth century, the lagoon city established itself in the production of designer glass, created in a collaboration between master glassmakers and avant-garde designers who still today continue to create unique masterpieces that are admired and desired all over the world.
INSIDE THE FURNACES
 
The furnace is that magical place in which, starting from "poor" elements, Murano's glassmakers create true masterpieces! Every object that comes out of the furnace is the result of teamwork
that is carried out with very simple tools and movements handed down from generation to generation. The master glazier coordinates and directs all of the workers present, from the garzone (the apprentice) to the various serventi (the assistants) to the soffiatori (the glassblowers). Each of these people performs a precise and delicate task that is essential to the success of each piece. It starts with four basic elements that combined, form the partía: silica sand, soda ash, calcium carbonate, and rinse aid, usually antimony. Putting this composition inside metal crucibles and subjecting it to fusion at about 1400°C produces transparent crystal glass. Different oxides are used to obtain various colors, for example, cadmium for yellow, selenium for red, cobalt for blue, copper for green, and many others.
Widows vase
A. Fuga for A.Ve.M.
1960s
 
 
Inside the crucible, the glass takes on the consistency of a viscous and very dense melt, a substance somewhere between a liquid and a solid state. Servants collect a lump of molten glass, called bolo, using long, perforated rods that allow it to be blown. The glass at this point is very ductile and can take any shape one wants to give it.
 
The barrel is to be kept rotating, and the bolo starts to be worked by first shaping it on a shelf, called a bronzin, and then blowing it to obtain a hollow sphere and possibly working it with pliers or special molds, depending on the object to be obtained. Alternatively, the master glassmaker may also work the bolo without blowing it, but shaping and molding it, leaving it solid.
Lumberjack
Vetri Artistici Archimede Seguso
1950s
Aava bottle
T. Sarpaneva for Venini
1990s
THE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES
 
In Murano, glassmaking techniques are numerous. Some are very old, while others are the result of the genius of contemporary masters. Certainly, some are more widely used than others, so here is a brief description of five important Murano glassmaking techniques: incalmo, filigree, sommerso, gold leaf, and millefiori.

 

Incalmo

This technique, whose name means 'graft', consists of welding together through heat two open-blown objects along the two hems of equal circumference to obtain two or more different colors in the same object. This refined Murano technique was invented in the first half of the 16th century and is still used today to create striking objects, such as this bottle designed by the Finnish Timo Sarpaneva.
Filigree
For this technique, rods of clear glass (crystal) containing threads of white (lattimo) or colored glass are used, either smooth or spiral, as in the case of retortoli filigree, also called zanfirico. If two cylindrical blown pieces, each covered with rods containing a lattimo filament arranged in opposite directions, are used the filigree becomes double and is also called a reticello. In this case, as can be seen in this delicate jug, joining the two cylinders results in a kind of net-like lace that contains an air bubble imprisoned in each mesh.
Jug in reticello glass
A.Ve.M.
1930s
Sommerso
This technique involves dipping a thick blown glass into the crucible containing another color. The superimposition of thick transparent vitreous strata allows for some special color effects, as in the case of this wonderful bottle, made of yellow, green, and blue glass.
Bottle in sommerso glass
F. Poli for Segusto Vetri d'Arte
1950s
Gold leaf
The application of gold leaf is a very old technique, still used today by Murano masters to create unique objects, particularly refined. The glassmaker places a sheet of gold on the part of the mixture collected from the crucible and then covers it with an additional layer of glass. At this point by blowing, the gold is dispersed in the composite creating a magnificent effect, which gives great luminosity to the works, as in the case of this cornucopia.
Cornucopia in gold leaf
Vetri Artistici Archimede Seguso
1950s
Millefiori anphora
F.lli Toso
Early 1900s

Millefiori
In this technique, one starts with a rod that has several concentric glass layers of various colors and shapes inside it, usually flower- or star-like, as seen in this nice amphora. The millefiori cane is cut into sections that, when juxtaposed and fused, are used to produce various objects.

 

Watch the video and be fascinated by the magic of Murano glass.

Become a Passionario

Chat with us