Article DetailsItalian Murano glass |
| Date Added: November 15, 2010 03:50:17 AM |
| Author: Murano Glass |
| Category: Shopping |
| By the mid of the 14th century, Murano was the headquarters of glass making centers in Europe. All artistic glass wares and glass lamps were produced by the artists in Murano. Throughout 15th and 16th century Murano enjoyed its dominant position in glass making. It was not before 17th century that Portugal followed by Spain, Holland and England started exploring the world and established their colonies around the globe. During this time Murano lost its trading contact with Middle East and the effect was badly felt by the glass makers. The renaissance and colonization period saw increase in demand of artistic glassware. Italian Murano glass faced competition from many new and small producers, although it was always considered the best in quality. The competition made glass makers in Murano to revise their techniques and make better quality glass. But in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice, they imposed impossible tax on Italian Murano glass as favor to their own Bohemian glass work. There were no more guilds; no special status of glass makers and only a handful of furnaces were left. The glass makers preserved their skills for future generation and kept their heads down till 19th century. The modern day Italian republic was born in 1861 which saw the large scale birth of Italian Murano glass works again. Throughout the whole 20th century, the glass makers concentrated on the innovation of a more refined technique, adapting themselves to the modern day trends. The Italian Murano glass also scores in versatility as they range from the floral patterned Millefiori glass to abstract Ghiaccio glass. Some glass makers also add metal parts to give the sparkling effect which is very popular in today’s market. Murano glass lamp is one of the items that is made there and is still a hot favorite around the world. The basic types of Italian Murano glass include Avventurina which uses metal to add shimmer effect to the glass, Chalcedony which incorporates color which flows through a dark-colored glass making it look like a stone, Millefiori which are flower shaped canes of glass used for making up motifs on glass and Filigrana which uses thin glass canes to run throughout the glass piece. If you want to purchase Italian Murano glass lamp, you need to know what shape and color you want. Murano glass is the perfect material for molding into beautiful chandeliers, lamps, and other home décor accessories. One of the most advantageous point of Murano glass lamps is that it is available in a wide range of colors. You can get lighter shades for elegant decoration or you can also go for bright colors for a bold decor. Murano glass lamp can be made up of large pieces or smaller fragments of glass. The whole art of glass making is handmade so two sample works are not absolutely alike. The process of Italian Murano glass making can never be automated. This is a beautiful handicraft which has been and still is a visual treat. Glass is made out of molten fine silica which is then transformed into glass of high quality. Murano Glass is the author of this article on Murano Italian Glass. Find more information about Italian Murano Glass here. |