Everything About Venice and Murano Glass » Murano Glass Questions

Finally, a perfect way to learn about Murano glass and experience its magic!

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:53:02 +0000

Numerous times on various travel websites, forums, and blogs, including ours, travelers to Venice ask the question of whether and how to see a demo of Murano glass making without wasting precious time in Venice and experiencing an annoying sales pitch. GlassOfVenice is happy to report that finally there is a way for most people to learn more about this fascinating art and experience it first-hand in the studio of a famous Murano maestro at very reasonable cost and without being pushed into buying anything. This definitely makes it worthwhile to make a trip to Murano and see the world of artistic glass making with your own eyes.

The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and Murano Glass Museum (Museo del Vetro) together with Abate Zanetti Murano Glass School present GLASS IN ACTION, a comprehensive overview of the ages of Murano glass history. This one-of-a-kind begins with a guided tour of Murano Glass Museum, which has on display a unique and extensive collection of glassware from ancient Rome through Murano glass of the Renaissance period to modernity. After that it’s on to the Murano Glass School, for a glass working demonstration with an accomplished Murano glass maestro, and the viewing of a documentary film.

Use this unique opportunity to learn more about Murano glass at its birthplace and get enchanted by the birth of glass from the magic of fire and the skill of an artist. The cost of the entire program is just 15 euro per person, and it runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. English tours start at 2:30pm at the Murano Glass Museum (Fondamenta Giustinian 8, 30121 Murano, Italy).

Learn more about this program at the Murano Glass Museum’s website.

Learn more about Murano glass and its history at GlassOfVenice – About Murano Glass

Glass Jewelry – the World of Murano Glass Beads

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:45:24 +0000

Glass jewelry has been around for thousands of years, to enhance necks, fingers, ears and clothes of ladies and gentlemen, rich and poor, all over the world. They are adorning ladies of Masai in Africa, of Dayak in Borneo or of Hopi in the New World. Like drops of light, colorful beads are woven, strung, melted or imbedded, to form thousands of shapes and forms, often kept in the same family or tribe for hundreds of years.

Modest beginning

It all starts with a bag of sand. It is truly fascinating how human ingenuity could transform what is basically ordinary silica sand, with some additional ingredients and a lot of fire, into such a magical medium as glass. It is even more fascinating to see the result of that same ingenuity, imagination and vision, which transformed glass into a number of different forms, using techniques invented through history. And to make the story even more fascinating, most of the glass jewelry making techniques were invented on a small island of Murano, near Venice in Italy. Once invented, the techniques remained more or less the same through centuries.

There are several major types of beads that are used all over the world to make glass jewelry.

Seed bead or conterie

Seed beads are made from hollow thin glass tubes that are cut very fine and then re-fired to smooth the edges and add color. They are used to make intricate glass jewelry and festive clothes, especially wedding gowns. Seed beads have been used for centuries all over the world, and in many different parts of the world they became a part of native culture and art expression. Contemporary artists and artisans are also using seed beads to create jewelry which is limited in shape and form only by the artists’ imagination. In the past, making bead jewelry in Murano was the job of women, while all other aspects of murano glass making were almost exclusively the domain of men.

Rosetta or Chevron beads

Rosetta beads were invented in Murano in 14th century. They are made similarly to seed beads, from hollow glass canes. The canes were formed from six layers of glass of distinctive colors: white, blue, white, brick red, white and blue again. Once cut, the canes were made into beads with patterns of 5 concentric circles with twelve points.

Millefiori beads

Millefiori beads are made by melting together canes of different colors, which were cut once cold, to produce intricate patterns, which resemble lace. They are one of the most famous products of murano glass and are used in many spectacular ways to make extremely beautiful glass jewelry and works of art.

Blown Beads

Invention of lampwork technique, which allowed glass makers to heat glass with an oil lamp and shape it with different tools while hot, offered bead makers a whole new field of creativity. They found out that they could melt already produced canes and then blow the glass, creating very intricate shapes, which were then cut into beads. This method is called Filigrana, and is now copied all over the world. Some contemporary artists are using this ancient murano glass technique to produce spectacular, but not always wearable, glass jewelry. It is not easy to hang around the neck a necklace made of fragile large sky blue blown beads, like those made by well known glass artist Giorgio Vigna, shown recently at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.

Each blown bead has to be made by hand and each is a piece of art in itself, even before artists add their own imagination to their placement. Some contemporary glass artists blow their own beads, but many import them from Murano.

Lampwork or Perle a Lume Beads

Lampwork is also used to make wound beads, made by melting glass over a mandrel (a core). Originally, the Murano beads were wound over a ferrous mandrel called “fango”. Since this word means mud in Italian, it is said that the mud was taken from the Venice lagoon, adding to the mystery of these beautiful beads.

Since the Moretti Murano family started using copper mandrel in 1920s, this method became standard in making wound beads, and it also allowed for some interesting forms. The mandrel was cut off just below the bead and the bead was dunked in nitric acid. The acid dissolved the copper inside the bead and etched the interior surface in interesting patterns. Today, most murano glass bead makers use stainless steel or silver, for more delicate beads.

Please see our wide selection of authentic murano glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

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Murano Glass School – From Murano to the World

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:19:32 +0000

Humans have been making glass objects for thousands of years. Whether it was Egyptians or Phoenicians who were the first to create beautiful glass objects from simple silica sand, it was not until Murano glass artists united on the small island near Venice that the glass-making reached the peak of its creativity. Murano glass artists came up with a whole range of techniques of manipulating glass into breathtakingly beautiful objects that for more than thousand years are the synonym with magnificent glass. But, it is not only techniques that became famous exports from Murano. It was also a unique way of looking at the glass and incorporating artistic expression with possibilities that glass as a medium offers.

Through centuries, Murano glass artists have been adapting to the change in styles and customers’ demands, to produce, and even dictate, the glass art style. But, Murano is not exporting only its famous glass art objects and techniques used even today all over the world. They are also exporting the knowledge, through a number of famous murano glass art schools. One of the most famous is Abate Zanetti Glass School in Murano, an offshoot of the murano glass design school created in the 1860’s.

Abate Zanetti Glass School was created to serve young people of Murano island who wish to continue in their fathers’ and grandfathers’ footsteps. But, the school created so much interest that now it offers also short-term courses, for all skill levels, as short as a weekend and as long as few weeks. The classes are taught by the best glass-makers of Murano such as maestro Pino Signoretto. Each course is booked a long time in advance, by glass artists and glass enthusiasts from all over the world.

The School continues in the footsteps of one of the historic glass art institutions in Murano, the Drawing School for Murano glassworkers, established in 1862 by the Abbott Vincenzo Zanetti.

The building which houses the school is part of Murano glass history as well. Originally built in the 1930’s, it has been restored to preserve the original character of the traditional Venetian palace. Regardless of its traditional looks, it is built as a school, with big rooms for classes and exhibitions, a hall for lectures, beautiful garden and well-equipped library.

The mission of the Abate Zanetti Glass School is to remain the guardian of old Murano glass traditions and is quickly gaining reputation as a central point of Glass art in Murano. In the school, famous glass-making families share their knowledge and trade secrets with new generations of artists, from Murano and elsewhere. Their goal is also to pass on the love, the passion and the unique artistic style and high standards in glass making.

The courses in the school are covering all the most famous Murano techniques in forming glass, like glassblowing and solid working. The students learning glassblowing technique are creating different objects: Venetian goblets, plates and vases, decorated using various techniques such as filigree, reticella filigree, murrina, and incalmo.

Fusing, a popular contemporary glass technique, is also taught in the school. Fusing, or slumping, allows the glass sheet to be formed, at high temperatures, into different artistic forms. Students who learn fusing can work on stained glass, sculptures and glass jewelry.

Lampworking is another ancient technique which reached its peak in Murano that is now taught students from different countries. Glass rods of different thickness are softened by heat from the ‘lamp’ heated by methane gas and oxygen. Once pliable, rods are shaped with different tools, making small decorative objects and beads of all sizes and shapes.

The Abate Zanetti Glass School also offers small group or private lessons if requested. The School teachers and maestros are also available to work with individual artists and designers on their projects.

Please see our wide selection of authentic murano glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

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The Story of Millefiori – Thousand Years of Glass Flowers

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:02:56 +0000

For connoisseurs of glass art, murano glass invokes images of almost thousand years of tradition, inventiveness and forms that followed styles and demands of particular times. But for majority of people, Murano glass is the synonym for beautiful objects decorated with tiny colorful glass flowers – millefiori. Italian for ‘thousand flowers’.

The term “millefiori” was used to describe mosaic beads first time by the London glass maker Apsley Pellatt, in his book “Curiosities of Glass Making”. Today, the term millefiori is used not only to describe colorful glass flowers, but a glass making technique that survived centuries of changes of fashions and styles and is now popular on all continents. New technologies enable glass makers now to produce these beautiful glass objects for a fraction of the price and make it possible even for people with small budgets to own a unique Murano glass art piece. But, what every owner of Murano millefiori glass piece should know is that their precious Murano millefiori pendants or vases have long and interesting history.

The path which this wonderful technique took until it came to Murano glass makers, who refined it and made it famous all over the world, is long and curious. It is believed that Egyptians first came to the idea to fuse different colored glass between the third and the first century B.C. After them, Phoenicians and Romans also came to the same idea. It would be interesting to know if they influenced each other, or the same idea came to different artists in different countries independently.

The oldest intricate and very well preserved Roman Millefiori beads were found by archeologists, who believe that they were made between 50BCE and 300CE.

Romans brought the technique to Europe and some glass rods were found on 8th century archaeological sites in Ireland. Some millefiori-decorated jewelry was found in Sutton Hoo, the early 7th century Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Nobody knows how and why it happened, but after 8th century the knowledge of making millefiori glass was lost and not seen again until 15th century, when Murano glass makers rediscovered it, or maybe reinvented it, and made it famous all over the world.

It is difficult to imagine that such complex and intricate designs like millefiori decorations and beads start as simple, thin glass rods called “murrine”. The rods of different colors are fused together in high heat, stretched to the desired thickness while hot, and then cut into fine segments. Depending on the color of rods, each cut segment shows differently colored flower. The flowers look so real and vivid, like they were created by nature, just for our pleasure. Once cooled, each ‘flower’ is fused into a hot glass object like a vase, paperweight, lamp, or is set in gold or silver and made into a piece of jewelry.

Although thousands of millefiori objects are made in Murano today, they are still made by Murano glass makers by hand, and each piece is unique. The technique is now used by glass makers all over the world, but it is easy to recognize intricate and vividly colorful art typical for Murano.

At GlassOfVenice.com, We feel that the handmade colorful and precious murano glass objects allow us to go back in time and capture the fragile beauty of Venice, and we are happy to share this opportunity with our customers worldwide.
Please see our wide selection of millefiori and other murano glass objects at at www.GlassOfVenice.com
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Visiting Murano Glass Furnaces

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:59:12 +0000

We often get questions about the possibility of visiting a factory or a workshop in Murano and witnessing the creation of famous Murano Glass. Unfortunately the artisans we work with and many other high quality Murano glass artists do not open the doors of their workshops to tourists. The main reasons are:

The artisans consider their business a serious affair and heavily guard their glass-making secrets, so they would like to avoid any unnecessary distractions or intrusions

The main expertise of the artisans is in production of Murano glass and not in entertaining tourists or explaining the process to them.

The workshops arent’s staffed to handle the inflow of tourists

No factories are usually interested in tourist visits just for the sake of showing them the glass-making process. Those factories that agree to hold these demonstrations do so for a chance to sell their wares, often in a pushy way and for above-average price.

If you would still like to see how Murano Glass is made, there is a place in Venice itself called Vecchia Murano that offers free demonstrations (of course with a chance to buy something from their massive store). Vecchia Murano is located near Piazza San Marco right behind the Bridge of Sighs. Also if you take a vaporetto to Murano and just take a walk around the island (which is very pretty, less touristy and much quieter than Venice), you will quickly find furnaces and workshops that are open to tourists and offer demonstrations. If you decide to pay a visit please remember:

It is best to visit furnaces on weekday mornings. Most of them are closed during the lunch hour (which tends to be longer than in the U.S. and often runs until 2-3pm) and on weekends.

These tours and demonstrations should always be free of charge. Do not agree to deal with anyone who offers to get you into the factory for a fee.

In Venice, you may encounter sales representatives from touristy factory showrooms that will offer you a free boat trip to Murano. If you accept, be prepared for a lot of sales pressure when you get there and make sure you know how to get back. In fact it is always better to come to Murano by relatively inexpensive and efficient public transportation, and not have to depend on pushy salespeople.

The exit from a demo is almost always through a richly stocked showroom where you may encounter variable amounts of sales pressure. Look at the prices first, and if things seem too expensive – don’t buy. The factories often give you an impression that they sell cheaper “direct from factory”, but this is not always true.

If you do decide to buy something, either take it with you, or, if you’d like it shipped, make sure that your purchase will be very well packed and that you know how and when it will reach you. Take down the coordinates of the factory and the name of the salesperson in case any problems arise later on.

Please note that almost all Murano glass factories are closed the entire month of August.

I returned from Venice and realized I should have bought more Murano glass there. What can I do now?

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:15:37 +0000

While visiting Venice, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of Murano glass offered for sale all over the city. However, once the tourists return home and start wearing or displaying their beautiful Murano glass purchases, they instantly get many complements and questions about these items, prompting them to think that they should have purchased more Murano glass items both for themselves and as gifts. Then they realize that Murano glass is not widely available around them, and wonder “is it too late to buy more?” Fortunately, the answer is “no, it is not too late”.

While outside of Venice there are not many stores specializing in genuine Murano glass, and counterfeits are abound, one can still find a good selection of genuine Murano glass products even after they leave Italy by going on line. Sites like GlassOfVenice.com feature a full line of authentic Murano glass jewelry, accessories, and home décor imported directly from Venice and offered at very reasonable prices.

I have a beautiful glass item. Is it Murano glass?

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:47:20 +0000

As with many works of art, it is not always easy to determine whether a particular glass item is authentic Murano glass, and it is even harder to attribute it to a particular master. Over the centuries, there were so many trends and techniques in Murano glass that the spectrum of possibilities of what a genuine Murano glass item may look like is very wide. From imitations of classical antiquity to enameled glass, glass made to look like chalcedony or other semi-precious stones, glass with filigree and engravings, Murano masters made miracles out of glass for 800 years. These days, one can only come across Murano glassware from the Middle Ages in museums such as the famous Glass Museum in Murano. However, Murano glass from more recent times such as 19th and 20th century, often made by famous masters, can often be found in ordinary people’s possessions.

If you come across an item that you think may be Murano glass, first of all look for any labels, etchings, stamps or signs stating the origin of the item or name of the glass-making company. If you find any, and it contains names like Salviati, Seguso, Barovier, Toso, Moretti, Mandruzzato, Venini, Zanetti, Nason, Signoretto, Barbini, Bianconi, Cenedese or words like “Vetro Murano”, “Vetreria Artistica….Murano”, “Maestri Vetrai Murano” or similar, you are probably holding a genuine Murano glass article. If there are no labels or etchings, identification is more complicated and has to be made on the basis of the look and glassmaking technique alone. The best approach in this case is to take several high quality photos of your article from various viewpoints and send them to experts for identification and attribution. GlassOfVenice.com has been dealing with Murano glass for many years and can help you with such requests for free.

What is the difference between Murano glass and any other glass?

GlassOfVenice — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:41:56 +0000

Murano glass is glass in a chemical sense of the word. However, Murano glass is as different from, say, the glass in your window panes, as Rembrandt paintings are different from an empty canvas. Murano glass is created only on the island of Murano, located within the borders of the city of Venice in Northern Italy. This glass is made from silica, soda, lime and potassium melted together in a special furnace at a temperature of 1500°C to reach a liquid state. Gold or silver foil are often added to the glass mixture, along with such minerals as copper for sparkles, zinc for white color, cobalt for blue, manganese for violet, and so on. The mixture is then mouth-blown and/or hand-crafted by master glassmakers using special techniques and basic tools, many of which have been developed in the Middle Ages and changed little since then. This method of glass-making results in unique creations with rich coloring and beautiful, sometimes surreal, patterns and shapes, deserving to be called “works of art”. Even though beautiful glassware has also been created in other places around the world, none of the glassware still being produced has such rich history and so much artistic value as Murano glass.

I had a favorite Murano glass item and it broke. Can it be fixed?

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:42:52 +0000

Murano glass is hand-crafted by masters working the heated-up liquefied glass mass using special centuries-old techniques, and then cooling it down till it solidifies to form a specific pattern within a certain shape. For this reason, when an article made of Murano glass breaks, it is not possible to fix it except for gluing it together. Gluing may work if the item has a smooth break line and broke into only two or three pieces as opposed to many small ones.

If, based on the above conditions, you feel that it may be possible to glue the item back together, first of all you need to buy the right glue. We recommend using E-6000® glue for Murano glass, or any glass for that matter. This is a very strong waterproof and flexible adhesive once it dries. The only downside is its long drying time- make sure to let it dry for 24 to 72 hours after application. With this glue, apply a thin coat to both glass surfaces that you need to attach, wait ten minutes and strongly press the surfaces together. Then put the item aside and let dry. Make sure you use this glue only in an area that has adequate ventilation.

If your Murano glass broke in such a way that it can’t be glued together, or if it just cracked inside its frame (like may be the case with Millefiori pendants), your best option may be to try to find a replacement. Regardless of whether the Murano glass item was modern or vintage, purchased recently or long ago, there are companies specializing in Murano glass that will be willing to work with you to find a replacement. GlassOfVenice.com is one such company, which accepts custom requests and is often able to deliver the specified products.

How do I know if a Murano glass item is genuine?

GlassOfVenice — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:12:04 +0000

This question is by far the most common one among those we receive. And this does not come as a surprise to us, since so many counterfeits have flooded the market in recent years, especially with the advent of the World Wide Web. Most Murano glass lovers appreciate this glass not only for its beauty but also for its historic, artistic, and sometimes sentimental value. So understandably they want to be sure they are buying the real thing rather than some cheap imitation. Here are the things to look for:

1) Look at the item itself (or its photos if buying online)
Does the item appear to be hand-made with slightly uneven surface or texture, or perhaps tiny bubbles inside the glass? Are the photos clear and professional showing the surface and texture of the glass? Can the photos be enlarged so you can clearly see the patterns? Are the colors bright and rich? Does the item seem to glow from within? Does the description say “Murano Glass” (and not “Murano-style” or similar)? Does it talk about real gold or silver being used during production of the glass? You want to be able to answer YES to ALL of these questions when you are looking for a genuine article. Always look for the evidence of the hand-crafted nature of the items, good photos, rich colors and specific descriptions.

2) Look at what else comes with the item
Does the seller offer a certificate of authenticity stating the origin and the production process of the item? Does the certificate display any text in Italian language? Is special packaging offered with the item? Does the packaging look attractive and is it of good quality? Again if the answer is always YES you are on the right track.

3) Look at the seller
Is the seller reputable? Does it share information about itself? Does it specialize only in Murano glass? Does the seller demonstrate good knowledge of Murano glass industry, techniques, production process, and history? Does it possess Italian background, education, or extensive travel experience to Italy? Does it offer a generous Return/Exchange policy? If it’s a website, is it professional-looking? Is there a real business address and phone number listed on the site? Look out for the addresses in Asia or in developing countries as this often is a counterfeit warning sign. Is it merely a large web portal selling lots of items from all sorts of sellers? Are any client testimonials or product reviews readily available on the site? Answering YES to these questions indicates the the seller is likely to sell genuine Murano glass. On the flip-side, if the seller also sells lots of other cheap-looking jewelry and accessories, is known as a large seller of cheap household names, can’t tell you much about Murano or Murano glass, does not seem to have any links to Italy, or has a shady website, you are probably looking at counterfeits.

4) Look at the assortment of Murano glass products the seller offers
Does the seller offer a wide range of Murano glass products that includes jewelry, home decor items and high-end Murano glass items such as vases, chandeliers, or art glass? Does it offer any Millefiori items? If so, is there a large variety of them and are they of good quality, displaying intricate patterns with many mosaic pieces in them, and rich colors? Millefiori is one of the most difficult Murano glass techniques and is harder to fake than some other ones. Does the seller offer to work with you on procuring any custom items or items not in their inventory? Again, if you answered YES to these questions you can be reasonably sure you are dealing with the seller who offers genuine Murano glass.

In general, trust your instinct and common sense when buying Murano glass. If something tells you “beware”, try to find out as much information as possible from the seller, and if you are still not satisfied, just steer clear from it and look elsewhere.