According to Chihuly’s website, though, it was difficult to get the two glassmakers to reveal their closely guarded trade secrets. During the 1970s, Chihuly even brought two Muranese masters to teach students at his Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle. Some centuries-old museum pieces look remarkably contemporary, with the colorful stripes and swirls we still associate with Murano.”Īrt piece by Dale Chihuly in front of the Murano campanileĪmong many other prominent glass artists, Dale Chihuly was greatly inspired by Murano glass. Even ancient pieces of glass discovered in the Veneto show that the region’s glassblowing techniques have remained consistent since ancient times. Writes Morelli, “Even with the great variety of Murano glass techniques and its long history, there is something cohesive in the visual vocabulary of Murano glass. … Glassmakers observed these shimmering waters outside their workshops, a vision reflected in the art that has made Murano, and its glass masters, world-famous.” Says historian Laura Morelli, “Murano emerges from the Venetian lagoon, a vast expanse of water whose surface reflects every shift in light. Murano’s beauty offered its residents no shortage of inspiration. After centuries of history and myriad challenges, the islands that comprise Murano, which altogether measures about 1.5 km (0.9 mi), are still today, synonymous with glass, and the glassmakers highly revered. Murano’s glass craftsmen began to offer services that would restore old Venetian mosaics, including those at St. Over many decades, the industry got back onto its feet and new, prestigious firms were founded. By 1820, almost half of the 24 furnaces that existed in Murano in 1800 had been shut down, and only five furnaces continued to produce blown glass. In spite of this, they were treated as the island’s most prominent citizens and enjoyed a heightened social status and lifestyle. Allowed to wear swords, they were protected from prosecution by the Venetian state, did not work during summers, and their daughters were married into Venice’s most affluent families.ĭuring the 17th century, Murano glass entered a period of gradual decline, punctuated by Napoleon’s conquest of Venice in 1797 and his abolishment of all guilds, including the Glassmakers Guild. Not only were the artisans banished to Murano, but another law passed in 1295 that further forbade the glassmakers from even leaving the island. Many believe the true motive for this law was to isolate them so they wouldn’t be able to disclose trade secrets. It’s worth noting that not all historians believe the theory that the glass artisans were relocated to protect them from setting fire to Venice. By cloistering the artisans away on Murano, their skills and trade secrets proliferated for centuries, so that it became the glassmakers’ wonderland that it remains today. That’s how it came to be that in 1291, all glassmakers who lived in Venice were ordered to move to Murano, a cluster of seven tiny nearby islands connected by bridges. Because glass factories frequently caught fire and the buildings in overpopulated Venice were mostly wooden, there was fear that glassmakers’ furnaces would ignite the city. However, the Guild’s motives were questionable, as it also called for a law to be passed that would mandate all glassmakers to move from Venice to the island of Murano. To outline regulations for the industry, a Glassmakers Guild was established. While these products were widely exported, they were available only to the wealthy, as glass was then considered an extremely extravagant and valuable commodity.Ī Murano streetscape is often along a canalīy the eighth century, Venice was a leading location for glass manufacturing, and by the late 1200s, glassmaking was Venice’s primary industry. There, molded glass was affixed to the ceiling of lavishly decorated public bathhouses, providing illumination and delight. Additional uses for glass would soon emerge in the form of beads, mosaics, jewelry, mirrors and windows. Glassmakers who relocated from Byzantium and the Middle East further enriched the talent pool in the city. Venetian glassmaking originated some 1,500 years ago, when glassmakers from Aquileia, Italy, made the voyage to the Venetian lagoon to escape attacks by barbarians during the Roman Empire. A bathroom sink with a story to tell? Indeed. It’s easy to get lost in the mystery behind this artform, as it’s every bit as intriguing as the glass itself. Having launched the handmade Murano Collection of glass sinks in partnership with artisans in Murano, Italy, Native Trails has most recently immersed itself in the history of Murano glass. Native Trails is known for its one-of-a-kind products that seem to speak of extraordinary past.
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