Murano beads
Encyclopedia
Murano beads are intricate glass
bead
s influenced by Venetian glass
artists.
Since 1291, the Murano glassmakers have refined technologies such as crystalline glass, enamelled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicoloured glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo) and imitation gemstones made of glass producing beads and glasswork unmatched anywhere in the world.
and cobalt
and ruby red is achieved through the use of a gold solution as a coloring agent.
or torch and mandrel technique, once the mandrel was made by using an iron rod covered with a release material stuck on the top of the rod, now a copper tube has taken its place.The copper tube helps make many other different shapes.
The lamp-work method is the most time consuming method of lass bead-making]. As each bead must be formed individually. Using a torch for heat, Murano glass
rods and tubes are heated to a molten state and wrapped around a metal rod until the desired shape is achieved. Several layers of different colored glass as well as gold and silver leaf are used to produce the desired effect. After the bead is slowly cooled, it is removed from the rod which produces a hole for eventual stringing.
Wedding cake beads "Fiorato"(decorated with glass overlays featuring roses, swirls and dots) and Venetian foil beads (with their fusion of color, gold and silver foil) are just two of the kinds of beads made using the lamp-work method.
beads are created in a manner similar to that of Chevron or Rosetta beads with the exception that there is a wider use of colour and the cane is not hollow, but completely solid.
is called the Filigrana or Filigree
Method. To produce these beads with stripes of color and spirals, glass-makers lay canes of glass down then pick them up with a blow-pipe.
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
bead
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s influenced by Venetian glass
Venetian glass
Venetian glass is a type of glass object made in Venice, Italy, primarily on the island of Murano. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skillfully made....
artists.
Since 1291, the Murano glassmakers have refined technologies such as crystalline glass, enamelled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicoloured glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo) and imitation gemstones made of glass producing beads and glasswork unmatched anywhere in the world.
Colour
The process of Murano bead-making begins with the production of color canes. The chemical compounds involved in color fabrication are extremely sensitive so they must be mixed with absolute accuracy. Aquamarine is created through the use of copperCopper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
and ruby red is achieved through the use of a gold solution as a coloring agent.
Lampworked, Perle a Lume venetian beads
Most Murano beads are made using an air pump burner lampworkingLampworking
Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, as the modern practice no longer...
or torch and mandrel technique, once the mandrel was made by using an iron rod covered with a release material stuck on the top of the rod, now a copper tube has taken its place.The copper tube helps make many other different shapes.
The lamp-work method is the most time consuming method of lass bead-making]. As each bead must be formed individually. Using a torch for heat, Murano glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
rods and tubes are heated to a molten state and wrapped around a metal rod until the desired shape is achieved. Several layers of different colored glass as well as gold and silver leaf are used to produce the desired effect. After the bead is slowly cooled, it is removed from the rod which produces a hole for eventual stringing.
Wedding cake beads "Fiorato"(decorated with glass overlays featuring roses, swirls and dots) and Venetian foil beads (with their fusion of color, gold and silver foil) are just two of the kinds of beads made using the lamp-work method.
Seedbeads or Conterie
Seedbeads or Conterie are small, round beads. To produce this tiny bead, hollow tubes of color are formed then chopped and re-fired for smoothness and shade.Chevron bead or Rosetta
First produced in Murano at the end of the 14th Century, these beads are made of a hollow cane and six layers of glass: white, blue, white, brick red, white and finally blue. After this layering of color, these beads are ground to produce patterns of five concentric stars with twelve points. The canes are then chopped into individual beads. The Chevron bead is distinguished by a red, white and blue zigzag pattern. These beads are also known as Millefiori.Millefiori or Lace beads
The abstract MillefioriMillefiori
Millefiori is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware.The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" and "fiori" . Apsley Pellatt was the first to use the term "millefiori", which appeared in the Oxford Dictionary in 1849...
beads are created in a manner similar to that of Chevron or Rosetta beads with the exception that there is a wider use of colour and the cane is not hollow, but completely solid.
Blown Beads or Venetian Blown Beads
When the lamp-work flame was introduced, bead-makers discovered they could melt the canes and then blow the glass. Today this glassblowingGlassblowing
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
is called the Filigrana or Filigree
Filigree
Filigree is a delicate kind of jewellery metalwork made with twisted threads usually of gold and silver or stitching of the same curving motifs. It often suggests lace, and in recent centuries remains popular in Indian and other Asian metalwork, and French from 1660 to the late 19th century...
Method. To produce these beads with stripes of color and spirals, glass-makers lay canes of glass down then pick them up with a blow-pipe.
See also
- BeadBeadA bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s - Murano glassMurano glassMurano glass is a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano. Located off the shore of Venice, Italy, Murano has been a commercial port as far back as the 7th century. By the 10th century, the city had become well known for its glassmakers, who created unique Murano glass...
- MuranoMuranoMurano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...
- Venetian glassVenetian glassVenetian glass is a type of glass object made in Venice, Italy, primarily on the island of Murano. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skillfully made....
- GlassblowingGlassblowingGlassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
- GlassGlassGlass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
- Venetian beads