Blown Glass gifts

The history of glass is shrouded in legends of mystery and secrecy.  No one knows precisely how glass was discovered, or what prompted people to mix sand and minerals and heat them in such a way as to produced a substance that has become so essential to our modern lives.

Glass-making as a craft dates back at least 3500 years.  Some of the oldest glass on record comes from pre-Roman times.  Its uses were functional; the pieces were made to hold liquid and were not intended as works of art.   The vessels were not hand blown but were made by wrapping hot glass around a core of clay.  When the glass had cooled, the clay was dug out, leaving the vessel intact.  Glass at this time was still a rare and precious commodity, and only pharaohs, nobles and some high priests possessed it.

The invention of glass blowing techniques emerged during the Roman Empire around 50 BC.   Craftsman discovered that they could use a metal pipe to blow air pockets into hot glass.  In this way they could mold the glass into a wide array of shapes and sizes.  It was during this period that glass first became widely available.

By the Middle Ages, Venice had become the “hot spot” for glass blowing with as many as 9,000 glass artisans practicing in the city.  But when the city’s officials decided that Venice was in great danger of being consumed by fire, they ordered the glass shops to be moved to the now-famous island of Murano, about an hour’s gondola ride away.  The glass industry on Murano developed a code of secrecy that was so strict that glassblowers and their families were not permitted to leave the island.  If a glassblower did leave, it was a crime punishable by death.

In the 17^th century a book was published called L’Arte Vetraria (The Art of Glass), which revealed the secrets of glass making.  This led to the development of glass blowing in other countries like, Germany, Spain, England, Sweden and France.  Eventually the art spread to the rest of the world, and gradually the use of glass became common in daily life.

With the advent of the industrial revolution, methods of mass-producing glass were developed and virtually all the glass we now use has been made in factories by machines.  But in the early 1960’s glass blowing was revived as an art form.   Harvey Littleton, a chemist and engineer, developed a small glass furnace that was compact enough to use in artists’ studios, paving the way for an explosion of creativity in the modern production of glass art.

Located just north of Venice, Murano is the island of glassblowers. Murano was a commercial port back in the 7th century. By the Middle Ages Murano was established as a major glass center. Venice moved its glass ovens and artisans to the island to remove the danger of fire and protect the secrets of the glass blowing techniques. Thus making the industry easier to control if it was contained on an island. The city established high penalties for any glass maker caught jeopardizing the venetian monopoly. Artisans were quickly regarded as leading citizens and granted the right to bear swords and enjoy immunity from state officials. They were the only people in Europe who had the ability to make mirrors. This monopoly on glass and anything that surrounded it lasted for centuries.
The popularity of Venetian glass in the 15th and 16th centuries was fuelled by its expertise in producing clear glass – cristallo . The practice of enameling glass was also highly popular at times. In the time of its greatest popularity, Murano was visited by crowned heads, popes and leading businessmen of its time – all attracted by glass.
Decline was inevitable and knowledge attempts to be free. Despite best efforts of the guilds, the government and the secret service, enough escaped from Murano to allow rival enterprises to start. Merchants set up their own factories in Belgium, Austria, Germany and France.
Glass making suffered under foreign rule and it was not until Venice was made part of Italy that the fortunes began to rise again. By the end of the 19th century there were signs that glass art was not dead and in the early 20th century interest grew using traditional techniques. The post World War II increase in tourists caused a demand for Venetian glass, not even made in Murano, but none the less sparked an interest in glass lighting, jewelry and high end pieces.