24 Facts About Murano glass

Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" Murano glass-forming techniques, as well as gilding, enamel, or engraving.

Today Murano is known for its art glass, but it has a long history of innovations in glassmaking in addition to its artistic fame—and was Europe's major center for luxury glass from the High Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance.

Glass was made in the Middle East long before it was made in Europe, though Ancient Roman Murano glass made in Italy, Germany and elsewhere could be extremely sophisticated.

The furnaces used to make molten Murano glass were a fire hazard, especially in cities with wooden structures nearby.

Murano glass in the 1200s was a summer resort where the aristocrats of Venice built villas with orchards and gardens.

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Venetian glassmakers of Murano are known for many innovations and refinements to glassmaking.

Aventurine Murano glass, known as goldstone Murano glass, is translucent brownish with metallic specks.

Calcedonio is a marbled Murano glass that looked like the semiprecious stone chalcedony.

Murano glass's family had been involved with glassmaking since at least 1331, and the family continued in the business after his death.

One of the common uses of the huge Murano glass chandeliers was interior lighting for theatres and important rooms in palaces.

Murano glass was allowed to work in a Bohemian glass factory, where he learned the secrets of working with Bohemian crystal—which was becoming more popular than Murano cristallo.

The use of "crystal" as a marketing term for Murano glass has continued into modern times, though for at least the last century it has normally meant lead crystal Murano glass of the type developed by Ravenscroft.

Millefiori Murano glass is a variation of the murrine technique made from colored canes in clear Murano glass, and is often arranged in flower-like patterns.

Small mirrors were made in Murano glass beginning in the 1500s, and mirror makers had their own guild beginning in 1569.

Murano glass mirrors were known for the artwork on the frame that held the mirror in addition to their quality.

Sommerso, is a form of artistic Murano glass that has layers of contrasting colors, which are formed by dipping colored glass into another molten glass and then blowing the combination into a desired shape.

Collectors of Murano glass included Henry VIII of England, Pope Clement VII, King Ferdinand of Hungary, Francis I of France, and Philip II of Spain.

The Murano glass was extremely thin, and therefore fragile, adding to the effect of luxury.

The Murano glass made in this movement is called facon de Venise ; the quality is typically rather lower than the Venetian originals, partly from difficulties sourcing the right materials, and the place of manufacture is often hard to discern.

The Bohemian and Prussian-style Murano glass was later modified by the addition of lime and chalk.

The Bohemian glass was not suitable to the Murano-style artwork on the glass.

The Bohemian and English glass eventually became more popular than cristallo made in Murano.

From its beginning until the fall of the Venetian Republic, Murano glass was mostly a very high quality soda–lime glass that had extra attention focused on its appearance.

The oldest Murano glass factory is Antica Vetreria Fratelli Toso, founded in 1854.