The Somerset reporter., 1896-07-02
VENETIAN GLASS.
AN ANCIENT INDUSTRY REVIVED IN
Tbs ISLAND OF MURANO.

Are Prodeced-How the Descendants of
the Gid Venetian Glassworkers Make
Beautiful Articles of Use aud Ornament
Among the lagoons, nearly due north
Of Venice i'll the island of Murano
there lives Il race of men who seem to
have great future. They are the de
scondal4ts of the old Venetian glass
workers, ard of late years they have
been reviying the aLllent art, which
made Murano famous in the past, Of
glassblowing.
The old Venetian glass was what is
commonly called blown, hut the name
gives very small idea of the manufac-
ture. Glass has certain characteristics
which give il its true beauty and value
for art Purposes, and though you may
neglect these and force it tomake forms
utterly foreign In Its nature you aye
producing not works of art, but mon
strOSitios. Whatever glass may be, it
is in its natural state not crystalline, so
that nature is outraged when we grind
it into sharp angular forms that belong
rather oother materials The cid Vcnc-
tian glass WAS light, bright, vitrcous III
appearance and stained with the richest
possible colers and all these qualities
are retained in the newly revived man
ufacture al M3rano.
There Is one IT, re strong point in IA
vor Of glass blown aud worked oYrr
than moldea-namely that every iudi-
vidual piece Is an original art, and us
it is almost impossible that any two
should be exactly alike, unless their
form is very simple indeed, the buyer
chooses according 10 his fancy and is
sure that 10 one else possesses piece
exactly the same size and shape. In the
manufacture OF the ordinary cut glass
minimum cred lead) Is frequently add
ed to increase its brightness, but this
destroys at once the characteristic light
ness, and. causing il to cool more rapid
ly, quite prevents the possibility Of
working it in the proper ductile and
mallcablc condition.
The Murano material is worked as
the ancient Venetian glass made on the
same island used to be, and all the old
methods have been discovered, or at
least the same effects have been pro-
duced. The hamma, perhaps more
strange than beautiful, the millefiore,
the smelze, including perfect limitations
of agates chalcedons lapis lazuli, etc,
for mosaic, the aqua marina, rich ruby
colors, the brilliant aySenturino, all are
here and many other kinds of work,
some of which are limitations of the old
glass and some new inventions
The tools used are hollow reed of
iron, Il few instruments like shears, of
different sizes. and Il stamp with Il
strawberry shaped die. The end of the
rod is dipped into molten glass of, say.
ruby color, and Il portion accumulated
on its end If too much or tco little is
taken, the wineglass will not be of the
right size, and If the metal AS il Is call
ed, is not of the right temperature, the
color will be too dark or toe light. The
lump is rolled on ii ta6le into symmetry
| and heated a.ain \ few turns of the
rod and breath or two through it, and
"A hollow ball appears at the end. One
extra puff of the breath and The bowl
would be too large and too thin. a boy
brings up ,mall portion of white glass,
which he has picked out of another res
crvoir and blown hollow. This must be
80 hot as almost To drop of the rcd, and
must be ready at the exact moment. lie
touches the bowl with it. and the two
| adhere like sealing WaX. y pull asun
der and enc deXtroas twist form tho
delicate stem Of the wineglass upon
which three little Jumps Of glass arr
| then stuck and stamped as strawberries
and the Whole Is again introduced into
the furnace Who're il would instantly
droop out Of shape but for the deft ma
nipulation which it undergocs.
BY the time it Is heated the boy Is
ready with another globe of glass, per
haps Of different color, which he
causes to adhere To the bottom OF the
stem. The man spins il around between
his shears, nipping part of ii almost off,
and thus gaining the right quantity of
metal for the foot, no less and no more.
One tap on an iron ledge breaks the su-
pertluous piece, and leaves Il small hole
at the point Of the fracture. Once more
the action Of the fire Is called III to soft
On the brittle material, and when the
pear shaped ends come ont the points of
| the closed shears are introduced to
widen the opening into Il cupllkc form.
A small lump of ayyenturino is by
this time on the end of the boy s rod,
melted and only saEed from dropping
! by'his dcxterity. One touch and it ad-
heres to the end of the cup just formed.