Through the Murano Looking Glass

A story of survival and revival

by Madeleine Adams

For many people, the words Murano Glass and Venice have always been synonymous. No wonder, since glass making has been an integral part of that great city’s life for more than 700 years.

But the survival of this historic industry has continually been subject to the winds of a changing world in a way that we might have only associated with modern life.

Although the first evidence of glass has been dated from the 8th century, it was several generations later when Venice’s craftspeople, with ideas gathered from the Romans and Byzantines, had refined their skills enough to produce the beautiful objects that we associate with Murano today.

Fired in very high temperature furnaces, the uniqueness of the earliest pieces was in their delicately decorated simple shapes. Glasses and vases were made of white glass to mimic Chinese porcelain, and laced with gold or coloured strands. Others were guilded and enamelled, or crackled to
look like ice. The first mirrors to be produced in Europe were also made here, and due to Venice’s convenient location along the busy Trade Route, word of mouth, as well as the export of all of these items were conveniently easy.

Before long, the wealthy of the world commissioned large collections of tableware, chandeliers and decorative pieces, with selection and demand growing as techniques evolved.

By the end of the thirteenth century, Venice’s powerful Glass Makers Guild did not miss the fact that the City’s skilled glass masters had given rise to the largest industry in the city. In 1291, with the argument that the perpetually hot kilns were a fire hazard to Venice’s wooden structures, its members decreed that all glass making factories would be moved to the nearby island of Murano. It is widely believed that the real reason for this decree was to “Seal off” the industry in order to protect its trade secrets from the outside world. This theory was confirmed by the subsequent enforcement of constraints upon the glass makers themselves, who, even though highly paid, became virtual prisoners to their craft. But this tight new community
resulted in greater competition as they continued to develop techniques for colouring and shaping objects. The very ornate Baroque style became an ideal complement to brightly coloured floral and animal motif decorations, with glass flecked with metal to add sparkle. Raised decorations were created to give the illusion of semi precious stones.

During the seventeenth century, the opening up of new craft making centres in Europe began to diminish the importance that Venice had long held as a trading power, and competition between nations intensified with Napoleon’s conquest of Venice in 1797. He quickly abolished all Venetian Guilds, and inhibited the import of the necessary raw materials, thereby strengthening Bohemia’s position as his favoured glass producing nation,
so that by 1820, Murano’s glass furnaces were reduced from twenty four to just five.

In the face of these political changes, and with a determination to keep Murano Glass alive, a more commercial venture was initiated by Antonio Salvati and the Toso brothers, who began to make window panes and to replicate early mosaic tiles. They succeeded in obtaining a fifteen year restoration contract with St Mark’s Basilica, and such was its success that the City’s local officials opened a school of glassmakers to recruit new generations of artisans.

Throughout most of their history, Murano glass makers had improved their techniques in sympathy with the style of the day, but at the turn of the twentieth century, with the dawn of the revolutionary Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements in France, they began to create their own designs alongside the clean lined striking figures of animals, nudes and classical figures that had become fashionable. Once again, the industry managed
to survive.

Today, Murano Glass is threatened by a world now flooded with copies from China and Brazil.

More critical is the exorbitant cost of maintaining heated kilns as well as the decline in young people with a passion for glass making, even though it remains a well paid vocation.

With a tradition of crafting extraordinary pieces for the very wealthy, Murano has once again turned its attention to this specialised market, and the few remaining artisans are now looking to Russia, the Middle East, America and China for luxury commissions. They are also producing unique embellishments such as beading, for the fashion industry. With the world now in economic decline, the odds appear to be heavily stacked against Murano Glass, but by no means for the first time, and with that in mind, they remain determined to survive long into the future.

BUYING AND DISPLAYING MURANO GLASS
• Early Murano Glass was not marked, and the later use of labels has been easily faked by other makers. While a new method of hologramming is being introduced, the best way to identify Murano is by the feel of it. It has a unique quality of smoothness, weight and shape and that sets it apart from any other glass.
• Buy only from a reputable retailer
• Display Murano in a safe place where you are able to slow down and enjoy looking at it. You will miss its beauty by placing it in a busy part of your home. The pleasure will be doubled if you are able to light it.