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MURANO
GLASS -
History
If it were not for the development of the glassmaking
skill Murano might have remained an anonymous little town on the Venetian
Lagoon . A Lagoon which now reflecst glass were old
meets
new. This is surely an accurate way of describing the production of glassworks
today.
VENICE ... a vibrant emporium, a gateway trough which Europe traded with the orient , well before the rest of Europe experienced its economic renaissance. It was in the 13th centuries after numerous fires caused by the furnaces in the city that the authoritarian Dodges decided to relagate all glass works to the suburb island of Murano. Here this art thrived.
Venetian glass was born as a soda glass. Its raw materials were silica from sand or crushed river pebbles, and soda ash from the coastal plains of the mediterranean originally imported from Syria or from Alexandria in Egypt.
Towards
the end of the 15th century a scientifically -educated master craftsman
(Barovier), found a way of greatly purifying soda ash, by mixing it with
pure quartz pebbles producing un unprecedentedly clear colourless glass.Through
the centuries the Venetians perfected both the materials and the tecniques
resulting in colours that are synonymus to research, alchemy, adventure ,
immagination.
Like all skills and arts even Murano glass had ups and downs through the
ages. With the advent of ART DECO as a style of decoration however, Murano
had the possibility to express it's creativity. Glass applied to this style
was particularily effective.This was followed by the "Novecento"
style ,
characterised
by realism and inspired by the 15th century. Once again Murano glass designers
were amoung the trendsetters, innovating with solid glass sculptures and
evocative colourings.
Over the last half century, with the increasing emphasis on the concept of "design", Murano has continued to thrive, catering not only to the varied and sophisticated demands of modern day furniture and lighting but also nurturing the work of artists exploiting glass in the creation on unique non functional pieces, and, of course still producing traditional ranges of timeless elegance.
Murano's businesses are characterised by very small laboratories conducted by a Maestro with a few apprentices. They are all usually family run and rarely have more then 10 people. It is however a problem finding a new a generation to take over as a meastro's work is not just creative but also long hard working hours infront of the furnace.
It remains however that Venice is one of the worlds most beautiful cities producing some of the worlds finest and most beautiful renowned glass.