Murano Glass - Venice: A Travel Guide to Murano Glass, Carnival Masks, Gondolas, Lace, Paper and More - page 16

glassmakers from Dalmatia, Bohemia, and elsewhere were occasionally authorized to work
on Murano. Until the sixteenth century, Murano glassmakers held a monopoly on European
glassmaking, and their stunning creations brought them renown across the world.
We know something about early Venetian glassmaking techniques thanks to a work
called L'Arte Vetraria (“glass art”), written by Antonio Neri in 1612. Neri's work outlines
the most valued types of Murano glass at that time, noting that it was the delicacy, lightness,
and translucency of Murano glass that brought it fame.
Although the majority of Venetian glassmakers named in historical documents were
men, some female glassmakers' names appeared as early as the 1500s, especially in con-
nection with beadmaking, whose practitioners formed their own separate guild. Many thou-
sands of these beads made their way to Africa and North America, where they were used
as currency and as embellishment for clothing well into the modern era. Even today early
Venetian “trade beads” can be found on objects as disparate as a Native American purse or
an African headdress.
The glassmaking trade faced hardships toward the end of the 1600s, when economic
difficulties and plague outbreaks hit Venice particularly hard. Murano glassworkers also
lost their monopoly on the exportation of certain types of glass and mirrors to the French
royal manufactures, and other European glassmaking centers rose to prominence. The
Venetian guilds were officially dismantled in the first few years of the 1800s, but just a few
decades later there was already renewed interest in Murano glass. The mid-1800s saw an
invigoration of Murano glass traditions with the foundation of several new firms, including
Fratelli Barovier and Fratelli Toso, today Barovier & Toso. Murano glass enjoys a healthy
trade today thanks in part to the tourist market and high demand among collectors for spe-
cial pieces.
Even with the great variety of Murano glass techniques and its long history, there is
something cohesive in the visual vocabulary of Murano glass. Even ancient pieces of glass
discovered in the Veneto show that the region's glassblowing techniques have remained
consistent since ancient times. Some centuries-old museum pieces look remarkably con-
temporary, with the colorful stripes and swirls we still associate with Murano.
Today, the island of Murano is synonymous with glass. Everything imaginable is made
from Murano glass: wine goblets, vases, candlestick holders, miniature animals, paper-
weights, chandeliers, lampshades, dinner services, tiny pieces of glass candy, beads, and
every kind of jewelry you can imagine. There is tremendous variety in quality, price, and
style. When it's quickly turned out for a cheap profit among the tourist trade, frankly it can