How Millefiori pendants are made: Techniques and history

The appearance of Murano Millefiori pendants originated in the middle of the 1800's, however they have started out a method that dates back much further. The fundamental manner of producing concentric ring patterns continues to be seen in glassware from The italian capital and Alexandria. The strategy was further enhanced at Murano throughout the Renaissance period, eventually evolving in to the modern techniques that make Millefiori pendants, along with other Millefiori jewelry, very popular today.

Many glass working techniques involve manipulating a blob of molten glass on the end of the metal rod. Ancient glass workers would knead a blob of colored glass right into a rod shape, and then dip it into molten glass of various colors, so that layers of various colored glass could be developed. A cross section of the rod would show a pattern of concentric colored rings, which was exploited by slicing the rod into disks, and then fusing them onto glassware to create a pattern.

These rods are known as Murrine, and it is believed the strategy to make them was delivered to Venice by Byzantine glass workers, fleeing Constantinople after it's defeat in the 4th crusade. Soon after, Venice's glass workers were limited to the area of Murano because of the fire risk using their kilns. Having a lot of skilled glass workers in a confined area resulted in Murano being a center of excellence for artistic glassware, they continued to dominate the marketplace for hundreds of years.

Round the end of the 15th Century, Marietta Barovier, daughter of the famous Master glass worker Angelo Barovier, pioneered a method that formed a star pattern in the center of the design. The molten glass rod was pressed right into a metal mold to make it right into a star shaped rod, that was then fired in a cylindrical mold full of glass powder of the different color. This restored the cylindrical shape, using the star pattern embedded in the center.

Different mold patterns were added, resulting in the petal shaped designs that characterize Murano Millefiori glass. Murrine are very short and fat when first made, typically about 6 inches long and 3 inches in diameter, they're then slow to make an extended rod having a smaller diameter. By repeatedly cutting the rod, and drawing it again, you can reduce the look no more than desired.

Throughout the Renaissance peak of Murano glass production, Murrine were mostly employed for making decorative spheres, glass pearls, and walking canes. Classic Millefiori jewelry arrived later, although not before a dark period in Murano's history.

In the 1700s, Napoleon imposed stiff taxes on Murano glass, he desired to crush the for political reasons. Merely a number of kilns remained open, doing the things they could to pass through on the glass making skills to successive generations.

Foreign control of the area finally weakened in the early 1800's, and Murano's glass workers exploited the political distractions of the period to rebuild their industry. It had been in this era that Murano Millefiori designs began to appear, in the type of Millefiori pendants along with other Millefiori jewelry.

Millefiori is definitely an Italian word meaning 'a thousand flowers'. It first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1849, this provides a sign of once the rebirth of the technique became well known outside Venice's glass making circles.

Millefiori pendants are created if you take slices from thin slow Murrine, and arranging them in circular patterns in a disk shaped mold. The gaps are filled in with glass powder before firing in a kiln to fuse the entire design right into a single bit of glass. Similar techniques can be used for other Millefiori jewelry items, in particular cufflinks and earings. Millefiori glass can also be employed for other ornaments, for example bowels and plates.

The molds in the centre of Millefiori glass making are fixed, however the designs they produce are unique. The colours used, the amount of layers added, how a Murrine are drawn, as well as the liquid nature of the molten glass, means that each Murrine has it's own individual characteristics. Then the cut parts of Murrine are selected and placed manually to create the general Millefiori design, using the final firing adding its very own little component of randomness in to the numerous Millefiori patterns. No two bits of Millefiori glass are the same, contributing to the attraction of the beautiful colorful designs.

How Millefiori pendants are made: Techniques and history

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