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History and Background
Glass has been made in Venice and the neighbouring island of Murano
for centuries. In the late 13th century, the glassmaking furnaces of
Venice were moved to Murano, to reduce the risk of fire within
Venice itself where many buildings were constructed of wood. The
majority of glassmaking now takes place on Murano, though some glass
is still worked in Venice.
The terms "Venetian glass" and "Murano glass" are now used
interchangeably to describe the finished glass made in either place.
With the increasing popularity of Venetian and Murano glass in
jewellery, the glass is now being imitated and mass produced in
other countries, so care has to be taken to ensure that glass
described as Venetian or Murano glass is authentic and not a copy.
Every bead and piece of glass made in Venice and Murano for Trinkets
is individually crafted by hand using the finest glass and many
pieces are lined with 24ct gold, 18ct white gold or sterling silver
foil.
Glass beads
"Lampwork" glass beads are made using glass rods produced in Murano.
The glass rods are held over a flame and the molten glass is wound
around a metal rod to form a bead. Other glass shapes are worked by
stretching the glass into the required shape using a variety of
tools.
Blown glass beads are also produced in Venice and Murano, using
glass rods and a pipe, through which air is blown to hollow out the
beads.
Fused glass
Fused glass is made by building up glass in layers, starting with a
base layer of coloured glass then gold or silver foil is often
added. Small pieces of glass - usually in assorted colours - are
layered on top, sometimes also millefiori (see below), then clear
glass, before the whole "sandwich" is placed in a furnace to fuse.
Once the fusing process has taken place, the glass is cut into shape
and polished.
Millefiori ("A thousand flowers")
Here, the glass rods are made in patterns, often like flowers, and
look like English sticks of "rock" sold at the seaside! The rods are
sliced, then the patterned slices placed into glass designs. Some
are made entirely of millefiori, whilst others use just a few pieces
of millefiori to enhance a design.
Seed beads
These are made from small hollow glass tubes and those produced in
Murano are of very high quality.
Avventurina
Avventurina is produced from copper crystals, which the glassmaker
uses to either line a bead or to enhance a glass design, resulting
in a dazzling effect.
Dichroic glass
This is a by-product of the space industry, where metallic particles
were discovered to have an unusual, multi-coloured and changing
effect. Venetian and Murano glassmakers are now incorporating
dichroic technology into some of their designs, producing
spectacular effects. |
