interisting glass

interisting glass __ Venetian glass is a method of glass production developed and refined over many centuries in Venice, Italy, primarily on the island of Murano. It remains a world-renowned centre for colourful, elaborate glass of the highest quality and craftsmanship – be it in glassware, mirrors, chandeliers, or beads and jewellery. This guide to the history of Venetian glass manufacture can be read in conjunction with our Glossary of Venetian Glass Making Processes which describes in more detail the processes discussed below, some of the science involved, and who a technique or process can be attributed to.

Early Origins of Venetian Glass

The first documented record of Venetian glass production dates back to 982 and references a Master phial and bottle maker named Dominicus Phiolarius. A further reference in 1090 mentions a Petrus Flabianicus (or Peter of the Flacons), involved in the same activity. However, pre-dating this documentary evidence, by some 450 years, archaeological discoveries made in the 1960s suggest the presence of glass workers and furnaces in the Venetian lagoon, centred around the island of Torcello and also Aquileia on the mainland. These sites appeared to be primarily focused on producing glass tesserae (from the Greek meaning ‘four-sided’) which were small glass or stone squares used as mosaic tiles for decorative purposes, possibly to be used in local churches or the villas of wealthy noblemen. This process harks back to far earlier production techniques from the Roman Empire when moulded glass was used to bring light into bathhouses.

Several centuries were to pass before the artisans of the Venetian area embarked on what was to become a fully-fledged and unique period of decorative glass production, evolving over time to reach world renown and for a period a virtual monopoly industry in Europe.

This shift in emphasis was largely due to Venice’s growing status as a cultural bridge between the west and the east. This was based on its geographic location on the Adriatic – facing the Balkans, and with the Middle East and Asia to the south and east respectively; the fact it was strategically well appointed on a series of islands with a strong navy and merchant fleet; and had a basic devotion to trade, and the power and influence that trade brought them. This role was initially focused on those countries bordering the Mediterranean, but also embodied the Holy Lands and the Orient. In war and peace the Republic of Venice focused on commercial advantage be it negotiating exemption from duties when trading in Byzantium in the 11th century, or the creation of trading bases, or protected ‘colonies’, in the Holy Land and Central Asia in the early 12th century. This policy was to give the Republic of Venice near monopoly status in glass production across Europe for some 300 years.

As hinted at above, glassmaking was very much an Eastern skill, and glass-making traditions were already well established in many countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, Palestine and Syria. Although Venice was influential in these regions, Islamic glass didn’t have any great presence in Venice until the capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the Crusaders on their 4th Crusade. This resulted in an influx of fleeing Byzantine glassmakers into Venice bringing with them skills and techniques that were totally new to Europe. By the end of the century, Venetian glassmakers had adapted many of these imported processes, alongside their own, to obtain unique results. This influx of techniques was to be repeated again in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans.

Political and commercial expediency then played an important part in ensuring that these techniques were retained within Venice and production was regulated to maintain a competitive advantage. In 1271 a legislative edict (or capitulary) was declared with the sole intention of regulating the art of glass making for the purposes of commercial advantage. From this point forward the importation of foreign glasswork into Venice was forbidden and foreign glassmakers were prevented from working in the city.

In 1291 the small independent art glass factories that were now starting to flourish in Venice, in particular around Rivo Alto and Dorsoduro, were moved across the lagoon to the island of Murano where they were to remain to this day. This was enforced relocation was ordered by the Maggior Consiglio or Great Council. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period this was a political organ of the Republic of Venice, made up of adult males from the aristocracy with a life long hereditary right to sit on the council. It functioned mainly as a pool from which members could be drawn for other councils and committees of State, such as the Senate, and the more secretive Council of Ten (established 1310), all under the chairmanship of the Doge.

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