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Historical Notes  |  Glass Making  |  Virtual Trip  |  Information

Vase-bead

Flat bead

The craft of the glass master has something miraculous about it.   Using a simple iron rod, the master takes a blob in incandescent glass paste from the pan which lies in the burning furnace.   The preparation of the glass is slow and the process changes according to the type of desired glass:  for a common glass the fusion must reach 1400/1600 degrees Celsius; while for crystals, instead of using calcium carbonate, potassium carbonate is used.  Lead, aluminum, zinc, barium, and carbon dioxide are added to increase stiffness and to help avoid that within time, the glass becomes fragile.

The glass master has no model before him; only his skill and his imagination to help him.  He puts the long tube to his mouth and with the energy of his lungs, the shimmering glass blob swells, curves, dilates and takes on the shape he desires.  A spatula, pinchers, and a pair of scissors, are some of the instruments that he uses to squash, flatten, cut, pull, curve, and twist.    Having patiently put the glass through a great many and variety of operations, the work of art comes out perfect from the hands of the master and is placed together with all the other works of the day in a long cooling gallery called the “ara” before it can leave the factory.

The oldest and most authentic specimens of Murano glass which have come down to us only date from the middle of the 15^th century and consist of cups and glasses with large surfaces of glass in strong colors of ruby red, cobalt blue, and emerald green on which the decoration the master painted profane scenes, erotic incidents, portraits of married couples in gazes, etc.

But the real glory of blown, transparent glass, the Venetian “crystal” came only between the end of the 15^th century and the beginning of the 16^th century.  The most beautiful blown glass of all was produced by the Murano factories in this period and are to be seen in public and private Italian and foreign collection and can be seen reproduced in the paintings of Titian, Veronese, and Bonifazio de’ Pitati.

The old traditional family names of the Murano glass blowers are: Barovier, Toso, Ferro, Salviati, Fuga, Seguso, Radi, each with its own busy furnance revived.

   Artists

Camozzo Luigi
Fond Sebastiano Venier. 3 Murano Ve Tel. +39 041 736 875

Signoretto Pino
Fond. Serenella    30141 Murano (Ve)
Fax. +39 041 736 769

Salvadore Davide
Studio:Fond.S.Giovanni dei Battuti 8     30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel.+39 041 736 772 Fax.+39 041 736 585

Tiozzo Claudio
Studio: Riva longa  Tel. +39 041 736 710 +39 041 527 4694
Gallery: Fond Manin  Tel. +39 041 527 4155

Cavagnis Mario
55, Fond. Manin    30141 Murano (Ve)

Toffolo Rossit Cesare
Gallery: 67/a, Fond. dei Vetrai 30141 Murano Ve
Studio: 72-74, Fond Manin 30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 736 460 Fax. +39 041 527 6532 

Costantini Vittorio
Fond. Nuove, 5311 Calle del fumo    30122 Venezia
Tel. Fax. +39 041 522 2265

Bubacco Lucio
Studio: 148, Fond. da Mula    30141 Murano (Ve)
tel. +39 041 736 544

   Foreign Artists

Amber Hauch
4, Fond Giovanni dei Battuti    30141 Murano (Ve)
Fax. +39 041 736 769

Heron Glass

   Important and reputable Glass Factories

Fratelli Toso
7, Fond. Colleoni    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 739 060 Hours:  9am – 5pm.

La Murrina
1/A, P. Colonna    30141 Murano (Ve)
right at the “Colonna” vaporetto stop. Tel. +39 041 527 4605 .   Hours: Mon. – Thurs. 9:30 to 5p.m. Open until 5:30pm. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday 9:30 to 5pm.

Barovier e Toso
28, Fond. Vetrai    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 739 049  Hours: 9am – 5pm.

Venini
50, Fond. Vetrai    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 739 955  Hours:  9am. – 5 pm.

Berengo Fine Arts
Fond. Vetrai    30141 Murano (Ve)
Hours:  9am. – 5pm.

Vetreria de Majo
29, Fond. Navagero    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 739 988  Hours:  9am. – 5pm.

Vetreria Archimede Seguso
18, Fond. Serenella    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. +39 041 739 048  Hours: 9am – 5pm.

Vetreria Accaeffe
27, Fond. L. Radi    30141 Murano (Ve)
Tel. 041 739 500      Fax 041 527 4477

 

   Where to see the Glass Demonstrations

TFZ International
38A, Fond. Vernier    30141 Murano (Ve)
right near the “Venier” vaporetto stop.  Hours: 9am – 5pm.

Vetreria ai Dogi
25, Viale Bressagio    30141 Murano (Ve)
right near the “Faro” vapoetto stop.   Hours: 9am. – 5pm.

   Other Links

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