Murano Glass

[ahuffman]

Your website looks great! Nice design. I am very interested in Murano Glass and have been doing reseach on the web. Your prices are very competitive. Do you use a middle man? Or import directly?

[fossilfly]

Thanks!

The vast majority of our goods are imported directly from Murano, with no middleman. We act as our own importers and handle all of the importing and shipping ourselves. This allows us to have a better relationship with our suppliers and at the same time increases our knowledge about how the glass is created and the different companies in Murano.

[atchome]

Hello, I was hoping you could help me. I have a bunch of questions about the Murano glass. If you could answer then for me that would be a great help.

1. Where is Murano?
2. What is it famous for?
3. What are the raw materials used for the celebrated glass of Venice?
4. Describe the “murrine” technique:
5. What is the “fazzoletti” vase?
6. What is “cristallo”?
7. What is a “pezzati” vase
8. What are “merlatti” vessels?
9. What is the lubellula” vase?
10. The “pulegoso” vase has what type of surface?
11. Why was the Venetain glass factories moved to Murano in 1291?
12. What changes has Murano Glass undergone throughout the years from Roman times to now?
13. In the 18th Century why did Murano Glass experience a decline?
14. When did Murano Glass again flourish and why?
15. When did Murano glass reach a world wide audience?
When in the United Sates?
16. What were Carlo Scarpa’s “lattimi” vessels made of?
17. What are the 3 major inclusions in glass design/formula, which effect the appearance?
18. Glass represents what features of Venice?
19. In Burano what type of glass vases are blown?
20. Glass blowing has been influenced by what other arts?
21. What have the Americans and Italians shared in the Glass blowing process?
Americans:
Italians:
22. What is a master glassmaker called?
23. What is the role of the designer of a glass object?
What does he/she do?
24. What is the role of the master glassmaker?
What does she/he do?
25. Is there a Murano Glass School in the U.S?
If so, where is it located and what is it called?

Thank you very much for all your help. Please e-mail me back at atchome@students.udmercy.edu.

Thank you,
Melissa Atcho

[fossilfly]

Melissa,

Thank you for your post, from the looks of it, this is for a school report, so i wont try to give you all of the answers. :) Many of the first few questions can be answered from this page History of Murano Glass (http://www.fossilfly.com/history_of_Murano_glass.htm) and in the glossary on the pages as well.

A “fazzoletti or fazzoletto” vase is a vase that resembles an hankerchief that is held by the center and overturned. There is one on the homepage, on the left. A "pulegoso" vase is one that contains millions of bubbles, created by the expanding gases created when a flammible liquid added to molten glass combusts. The bubbles can distort and break the surface of the vase, leaving it slightly rough with minisqule pinholes where the bubbles actually burst. However it is more common these days to have an inner layer of pugleoso covered with an additional layer of crystallo (clear) glass to give it a nice finished touch.
Murano glass has always been an art that was appreciated far beyond the borders of the island. In the middle ages, it was popular throughout Europe, but started to become more popular stateside due to it being shown at a few worlds fairs, and visual arts in general becoming more popular, especially in the 50's . Murano has always been an island affected by the commercial and political realities of the day, at it can be seen in the styles of glass created throughout time. Murano has had a huge influence on American glass artists. In the 60's Dale Chihuly (http://www.chihuly.com/) spent some time at Venini (http://www.venini.it/) in Murano to learn more about the art of glassblowing, and he created the Pilchuck Glass School (http://www.pilchuck.com) which still well regarded today. His time spent in Murano allowed others to follow in his footsteps, and learn the glass techniques that have been around for centuries.
It is getting late, so I think I will sign off. Good luck with your report.