Guest Author - Susan Dorling

Venetian glass is made primarily on the island of Murano, Italy. It is world-renowned for being colorful, elaborate, and skillfully made. The distinctive hand-crafted Millefiori glass-making technique was developed in Murano by the 13th Century. Highly regarded for their expert craftsmanship, Murano’s glassmakers gained prominence and by the 14th Century were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state, and married their daughters into Venice’s most affluent families. However, in return for all the glory, the glassmakers were not allowed to leave the Republic. But many did leave and set-up their glass furnaces in surrounding cities and as far as England and the Netherlands.

Murano’s glassmakers monopolized the industry of quality glassmaking for centuries, developing or refining many glassmaking technologies including; millefiori (multi-colored glass), smalto (enameled glass), adventurine (glass with threads of gold), lattimo (milk glass), and other glass styles. Murano is the home of the Museo Vetrario, the Glass Museum, in the Palazzo Giustinian, which displays glass samples from Ancient Egypt through to contemporary glass and offers a rich history of glassmaking to the glass aficionado.

In Italian, Millefiori means ‘a thousand flowers’. It was originally called 'mosaic' up until 1849 when the term Millefiori gained usage. The Millefiori technique begins with the production of thin glass canes or rods that are bound tightly together then cut into sections when cold, then rounded when hot. This produces tiny multi-colored mosaic patterns viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. The canes or rods, called murrine, are thinly sliced and in layer fashion, pressed onto beads or other forms while the glass is still hot. Millefiori was in its heyday from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, and is a strong influence in fashion today. Beautiful, fresh, and exciting, Murano glass jewelry is hotter than ever.

Making Murano glass is a complex process and most is made using the lampworking technique. The glass is made from silica which liquefies at high temperatures. The glassmaker shapes the design at that interval when the glass is changing from liquid to solid form and still soft and malleable. Other raw materials called flux or melting agents soften at lower temperatures. The proportion of sodium oxide present in the glass is an important factor in hand-working as it allows the glassmaker more time to shape the material. Various other raw materials are added to the glass mixture. Sodium produces an opaque surface, and nitrate or arsenic is added to eliminate bubbles.

Depending upon the look the glass-master wishes to achieve, various coloring agents and opacifyers are used. For example, Aquamarine is created using copper and cobalt compounds and a rich ruby red is produced using a gold solution.

Murano glassmakers use a variety of tools to create their art including; borselle, tongs or pliers used to hand-form the red-hot glass—canna da soffio, the blowing pipe—pontello, an iron rod attached to the object after blowing to add final touches—scagno, the glass-master’s work bench—and tagianti, large glass-cutting clippers.

Some wonderful Millefiori is being produced today with polymer clay and other materials, either on their own or in combination with Murano glass. Polymer clay has an advantage over glass with its extra pliability and it does not need to be heated and reheated to fuse it.

Millefiori is particularly stunning when set in Sterling Silver. If you love Murano glass jewelry, a visit to Shop 4 Silver.com is a feast for the eyes! Here you will find a wide selection of Millefiori jewelry and also Millacreli, a colorful combination of scratch resistant resin and Murano glass crafted into Millefiori design. This savvy pink-hued online shop also features jewelry made with Sterling Silver, Marcasite, Cubic Zirconia, semi-precious gemstones, leather, and men's jewelry. It is a one-stop virtual shop for fashionistas. For a more in-depth understanding of Millefiori and how it is made including detailed pictures, follow the link on the right-hand side of Shop 4 Silver.com's home page entitled "Click Here to Educate Yourself About Jewelry".