WHAZHOT · MADE IN FLO' · ONLY IN FLO' · DISCOUNT COUPONS
sections
Booking
.
culture
.
There’s more to glass than meets the eye A major blow
[Anna Forconi]
Apply an iron blowpipe to a blob of molten glass, and blow into it after rolling the aforesaid blob onto a marver and heating it again: that’s how the magic starts.That very same magic, in different shapes, is all around us, even though we may not notice: be it a vase, a bowl, a glass, a necklace bead or whatever else; with gold or silver powder inside, or in vibrant colors; in each case, it will be something absolutely unique because on the far side of that blowpipe there is a man - a craftsman, an artist or maybe even a master - who, regardless of his skill in the craft, will necessarily make something maybe similar, but still different the next time he blows into that pipe, for the very simple reason that human beings cannot make identical objects, just similar ones.
This is the real appeal and magic of a blown glass object: you can have as many of them as you may afford to buy, and they can be more or less beautiful, but no two of them will ever be the same if they are individually blown, and this has been the same since time immemorial, probably since the 1st century b.C. when someone in Syria understood how to make a blown glass object.
In Italy this difficult and demanding art has its major center at Murano a small island in the Venetian lagoon, where expert craftsmen have been producing for many centuries blown glass objects of rare beauty, as finely worked as lace, feather-light and almost impalpable, full of glowing colors: vases, candy-shaped ornaments, glasses, necklaces and other jewelry, plates small and large, bottles of all sizes and tableware, animals, figurines, paperweights, calligraphy pens and much, much else.
A thorough understanding of the material and excellent glassblowing techniques are required to fully exploit the qualities of glass. Technical knowledge and skill were built up over many generations of glassblowers, and were developed in conjunction with a sense of elegance and style which was totally appropriate to the material.
Some Murano manufacturers are world-known for the beauty of the shapes, the difficulty of their craft, the constant quality of their product. But even maller manufacturers very often create remarkably fine products, and indeed sometimes they can afford more freely to experiment and try new solutions both in the shapes and in the color combinations, always in compliance with the traditional manufacturing techniques.
Often the Murano glass – especially the larger, more valuable pieces – come accompanied with a guarantee of some kind (the artist’s signature or workshop’s trademark or a slip containing a certificate of authenticity), but on the other hand it must be said that the lack of origin marks does not necessarily mean that they are fake or copies. But then - you may rightly ask - how can I tell the real thing, how can I be confident that I’m not being sold "fake" Murano glass? My advice is to buy from a good, specialized shop.
Touch (with care!) the items which attract you most check the brightness of the colors and the unblemishedness of the glass. Above all, ask questions to the sales assistant: the best Murano glass dealers have an in-depth knowledge of their wares and will be all too happy to answer your questions and help you reach the best choice.
I hope this was of some use to you, but here’s one last piece of advice I’d like to share with you: watch, watch, and watch again. Never tire of watching, because that’s always the best way of learning and appreciating. So, get up and get going, but first finish up your drink – which you’re probably sipping out of a glass after all!
MORE
http://www.labottegadeiocristalli.com/