Artistic Glass
In the section “artistic glass” you will be able to find true works of art created by our master glass-makers from the Venetian Lagoon. Ever since antiquity the city of Venice has been famous throughout the world for its production of artistic glassware. A document dated 982 narrates that the island with the highest concentration of master glass makers has always been Murano. Even today the oldest families of glass makers maintain the artistic honour of this particular trade to a very high standard.
Glass is a very particular material that is obtained through the fusion of mixtures of silica like quartz and sand with some metallic carbonates (sodium, potassium, calcium, lead) In order to obtain the colour of glass, which tends to be transparent, small quantities of metallic oxides are added: iron for green, copper for red, and so on.
The working of glass is a technique that requires considerable preparation and diligence. The glassmaker mixes the raw material in the evening, so that the amalgamated materials can rest for an entire night. The reverberatory furnace must maintain a temperature of about 1,400°C so as to be able to melt the raw materials. The master glassmaker always sees to the working of the glass, coordinating the movements of a “team” of workers and apprentices. In jargon, this type of organisation of labour is called “lavoro dalla piazza” – meaning that the process continues in the open space of the workshop at the mouth of the furnace.
This is undoubtedly an art rich in fascination and history that since antiquity has brought prestige and notoriety to Made in Italy.
Artistic Glass Items
