About Murano Glass
History of Murano, the Glass Island
Murano, or Venetian glass (the terms are interchangeable) has its roots in 9th century Rome where Venice was a major port, and glass beads were used for trading purposes with African and Arab neighbours.
Murano became the epicentre of glass making in 1291 when the Venetian Republic, wary of the risk of fire to the city’s primarily wooden buildings, ordered glass makers to move their furnaces to the small island, just north of Venice.
The consolidation of so many artisans in one place helped the accelerated refinement and development of numerous glass making techniques used to create the dazzling works of art and jewellery that Murano is famous for.
Because of the wealth they generated, Murano's glass makers were highly regarded, and by the 14th century they enjoyed significant social status and privilege, marrying into Venice’s most wealthy families. However, all this privilege was strictly limited to Venice and Murano, as the glass makers were forbidden from leaving (on pain of death) and disseminating their knowledge elsewhere.
Despite the eventual scattering of the glass makers across Europe, due, in part, to the Napoleonic invasion of Venice in 1791, Murano glass is still regarded as the finest in the World, often emulated but never matched in terms of quality or beauty.
Types of Murano Glass
The processes involved in making the different types of Murano glass are highly complex, combining precise chemical alchemy, manual dexterity and creative excellence. Murano’s glass makers developed and refined many techniques over many centuries, of which the following are just a few examples.
The Master Glassmaker and the Furnace
Once the raw materials have been weighed (often according to secret recipes), they are placed in a crucible in the furnace, where they are mixed and melted. The fusion of the raw materials takes place at 1400°C and lasts a full nine hours; one of the unique characteristics of glass is how slowly it solidifies. The glass is heated to this temperature overnight, and then the temperature is lowered to 1000°C, where the glass is solid enough to be removed and will have the correct consistency for working by morning.
Once the glass reaches 500°C it can be worked on. A piece of the hot glass is pressed and rolled over an iron sheet to the required density and uniformity. The first breath of air is then blown into the glass globe to create a balloon. It is then pressed on the iron sheet once again to the required symmetry and balance. The assistant then hands over the glass balloon to the Master glassmaker who will use a multitude of techniques to create the final work of art.
The glass is returned to the furnace several times to ensure it remains malleable - too much cooling and the glass cannot be worked on. The Master's skill lies in forming the work of art in a very short space of time. Once the item is formed, it is placed in cooling chambers where it slowly cools to room temperature.
Murano Beads, Flame Working & Jewellery
Thin glass canes are used to make beads and other small shaped pieces. The canes are made by extruding a lump of malleable glass to lengths of up to 100 meters. These long canes are cut into more manageable sizes, about a meter long, ready to be worked on. As the cane softens over a torch flame, it can be formed into small stars, hearts, rings and other shapes.
To create the typical beads found in Murano jewellery, the melted glass is formed into a thread that is wound around a copper rod. This forms a small marble sized lump of glass that that can be worked and shaped using pincers or bronze moulds to give the desired shape. Once the bead is formed, the copper rod is cut off at the ends, and the cooled bead is then placed in acid to dissolve the piece of rod that remains in the bead. This creates a hole making the bead ready for stringing onto jewellery.
Many techniques can be applied to Murano beads, the most famous of which is the gold or silver leaf process, where a very hot bead is rolled over a leaf of precious metal. The heat of the bead makes the leaf crack into beautiful sparkling shapes which forge themselves into the glass. Another layer of glass can be added to make the bead glossy and shiny, or it can be left with the cracked leaf near the surface which makes the bead more subtle with a silky rather than glossy sheen.
With a heritage spanning over many centuries, even the simplest piece of Murano jewellery within its beautiful glass, encapsulates the history of Venice itself.
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