Venetian and Murano Glass History - Part 1
In 450 the area surrounding the Venetian lagoon was known for its glass works, supplying the local churches the tesseras for the mosaics. None of this work has survived. No glass preceding the 15th century has survived. The earliest surviving glass is from the 4th Crusade (1204), an example of Islamic art. It is stored in St Marks.
In 982 is the first written mention of glass works that we have recorded. In the document a man named Dominicus Phiolarius is mentioned as a bottle maker. In 1090 Petrus Flabianicus has his name in the history books.
The Venetian glass factories developed quickly and by 1271 the government of the day started to regulate them with the first capitulary, government decree. This prevented the importing of foreign glass into Venice and the employment of foreign glass workers. The Guild of glass makers was under the authority and protection of the Republic of Venice. The partite or formulas for the glass was a closely guarded secret handed down from father to son.
A further decree was passed in 1291 requiring all furnaces used for glass-making be moved from Venice to Murano to avoid the risk of fire from the furnaces spreading onto the largely wooden structures of overpopulated Venice. Many historians agree that the true motive for this law was to isolate the glass craftsmen to a location where they wouldn't be able to disclose trade secrets. A subsequent law passed in 1295 forbidding the glass-makers from leaving the city confirms this theory.
Artisans working in the glass trade were well rewarded for their efforts. They had a privileged social status, and their daughters were allowed to marry into the wealthiest and noblest of Venetian families. By applying this clever approach, Venetian government ensured that the glass-makers encouraged their offspring to carry on the trade, and that trade secrets stayed in the families and fuelled creative processes leading to innovation and further success. This, along with Venice's convenient location at the crossroads of trade between East and West, gave Venice monopoly power in manufacturing and selling quality glass throughout Europe that lasted for centuries.
Murano Glass Making reached its peak in the 15th and 16th Centuries
Murano glass reached the peak of its popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 15th century, master Angelo Barovier discovered the process for producing clear glass, called vetro cristallo or cristallo veneziano, that allowed Murano glass-makers to become the only producers of mirrors in Europe. The chemical composition of the glass allowed the master craftsmen to work on it for a long time. During this time Chinese porcelain became popular. To counter this the Murano Glass craftsmen produced a white glass called lattimo, from latte meaning milk.
The Middle East began to have an influence with such techniques as enamelling and gilding, as well as filigrana glass and ice glass. Ice glass appears to have fine cracks in it and the filigrana is made from glass rods with a thread of white, gold or some other coloured glass in the middle. Shapes became more ornate and complex. The more sophisticated buyer though preferred the beauty of simplicity.
Along with lattimo, white milk glass, the Venetian Glass Master Filippo Catani patented retorti or zanfirico filigree, in which fine filigree canes are used to form a lattice pattern, also known as Filigrana a Retortoli. This technique is probably the way most people imagine Murano glass today.
In 982 is the first written mention of glass works that we have recorded. In the document a man named Dominicus Phiolarius is mentioned as a bottle maker. In 1090 Petrus Flabianicus has his name in the history books.
The Venetian glass factories developed quickly and by 1271 the government of the day started to regulate them with the first capitulary, government decree. This prevented the importing of foreign glass into Venice and the employment of foreign glass workers. The Guild of glass makers was under the authority and protection of the Republic of Venice. The partite or formulas for the glass was a closely guarded secret handed down from father to son.
A further decree was passed in 1291 requiring all furnaces used for glass-making be moved from Venice to Murano to avoid the risk of fire from the furnaces spreading onto the largely wooden structures of overpopulated Venice. Many historians agree that the true motive for this law was to isolate the glass craftsmen to a location where they wouldn't be able to disclose trade secrets. A subsequent law passed in 1295 forbidding the glass-makers from leaving the city confirms this theory.
Artisans working in the glass trade were well rewarded for their efforts. They had a privileged social status, and their daughters were allowed to marry into the wealthiest and noblest of Venetian families. By applying this clever approach, Venetian government ensured that the glass-makers encouraged their offspring to carry on the trade, and that trade secrets stayed in the families and fuelled creative processes leading to innovation and further success. This, along with Venice's convenient location at the crossroads of trade between East and West, gave Venice monopoly power in manufacturing and selling quality glass throughout Europe that lasted for centuries.
Murano Glass Making reached its peak in the 15th and 16th Centuries
Murano glass reached the peak of its popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 15th century, master Angelo Barovier discovered the process for producing clear glass, called vetro cristallo or cristallo veneziano, that allowed Murano glass-makers to become the only producers of mirrors in Europe. The chemical composition of the glass allowed the master craftsmen to work on it for a long time. During this time Chinese porcelain became popular. To counter this the Murano Glass craftsmen produced a white glass called lattimo, from latte meaning milk.
The Middle East began to have an influence with such techniques as enamelling and gilding, as well as filigrana glass and ice glass. Ice glass appears to have fine cracks in it and the filigrana is made from glass rods with a thread of white, gold or some other coloured glass in the middle. Shapes became more ornate and complex. The more sophisticated buyer though preferred the beauty of simplicity.
Along with lattimo, white milk glass, the Venetian Glass Master Filippo Catani patented retorti or zanfirico filigree, in which fine filigree canes are used to form a lattice pattern, also known as Filigrana a Retortoli. This technique is probably the way most people imagine Murano glass today.
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