Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-11-17
VENETIAN GLASS.
AN ANCIENT INDUSTRY REVIVED IN
THE ISLAND OF MURANO.

There Works Of Art. Not Monstrosities,
Are Produced How the Descendants Of
the Old Venetian GlHssworkers Make
Beautiful Article. Of Use and Ornament.
Among the lagoons, nearly due north
of Venice, in the island OF Murano
there lives race of men who seem to
have great future. They are the de-
scendants Of the old Venetian glass
workers, and Of late years they have
been reviving the ancient art, which
made Murano famous in the past, of
glassblowing.
The old Venetian glass was what Is
commonly called blown, but the name
gives very small idea Of the manufac-
turc. Glass has certain characteristics
which give il its true beauty and value
for art purposes, and though you may
neglect these and force il a. make forms
utterly foreign 10 its nature you aye
producing not works Of art, but mon
strnsitics. Whatever glass may be, 1t
is in its natural state not crystalline, so
that nature is outraged when we grind
it into sharp angular forms that belong
rather to Other materials The old Nene-
tian glass vas l..-ht, bright, vitreous IN
appearance and stained with the richest
possible coIors, and all these qualities
are retained in the newly revived man
ufacture ut Murano
There il one more strong point IN Ia
vor Of glass blown and worked over
than mold, d-namcly, that every indi-
vidual piece is an original art, and as
il Is almost impossible that any two
should b. exactly alike, unless their
form is very simple indeed. the buyer
chooses according to his fancy and Is
sur that no one else possesses piece
exactly the same size and shape In the
manufacture of the ordinary cut glass
minimum tred lcad) is frequently add
cd 10 increase it's brightness, but this
DESTROYS mt once the characteristic light
ness. and, causing IL tocool more rapid
ly, quite prevents the possibility OF
working i, IN the proper ductile and
malleablc condition.
The Murano material is worked a.
the ancient Venetian glass made on the
same island used To- b., and all the old
methods h.r tcCn discovered, or AZ
least the same effects have been pro-
duced. TIE famma, perhaps more
strange than beautiful, the millcfiore,
the smelzc, ircluding perfect limitations
Of agatcs, cha.oodonS, lapis lazuli. etc.
for mosaic, the aqua marina. rich ruby
colors. the lhant avventurino, all are
here, and may other kinds Of work,
some Of which ..e limitations Of the old
glass and some Lcw inventions
The tools used are hollow reed OF
iron, "A few i-siruments Ike shears, OF
different ss. and stamp with a
strawberry ,hapcd die, The end OF the
rod is dipped into molten glass oi, say,
ruby color, and a portion accumulated
on its end. II too much or too little l.
taken. the " oglass will not be- of the
right size, anl if the metal, as II Is call.
ed. is not Of The right temperature. the
color will be too dark or too light. The
lump is rolled on a table into symmetry
and heated again. \ few turns of the
rod and lr, h cr two through 1t, and
a hollow bal! appears at the end One
extra puff of the breath and the bowl
would b. too laroc and too thin. "A boy
brings up small portion Of white glass
which he has picked out of another res
ervoir and blown hollow. This must bc
so hot as almost To drop off the rod, and
must bo ready at the exact moment lie
touches the bowl with II, and the two
adhere like scaling WAX. \ pull asun-
der and one dcxtrous twist form the
delicate stem of the wincglass upon
which three little lumps Of glass are
then stuck and stamped as Strawberries
and the whole Is again introduced into
the furnace. where II would Instantly
droop out of shape but for the deft ma
nipulation which 1t undcrgoes
By the time II j. heated the boy L
ready with another glote Of glass, per
haps Of different color, which he
causes to adhere Ia the bottom Of the
stem. The man spins II around between
his shears, nipping part Of 1t almost on,
and thus gaining the right quantity OF
metal for the foot, no less and no more.
One tap ON an mon ledge breaks the su.
perfiuous piece, and leaves small hole
at the point Of the fracture. Once more
the action of the fire is called in TO soft
en- the brittle material, and when the
pear shaped ends come out the points OF
the closed shears are introduced To
widen the opening into a cuplike form
A small lump Of avventurino Is by
this time on the end Of the boys rod.
melted and only saved from dropping
by his dextcrity. One touch and II ad-
heres TO the end Of the cup just formed.
He puts it out ard winds il around. ad-
herring as il goes to the edge. Again the
fire does It's duty, and then the artist
finishes the form Of the foot, detaching
Immediately the bulb at the top from
his hollow rod. Another rod, with a
molten piece of glass, Is prepared for
him by the boys ready cooperation,
and is pressed against the center OF the
foot, to which il adheres. Into the fire
goes the whols piece, and. when with
drawn the bowl Of the glass Is partly
shaped by the shears, avventurino wound
around the edge as before with the foot.
A last heat, and with artistic care the
delicate, crocuslikc bowl. which is some
day to contain the sparkling wine, is
nounrlntod Il cndnn Glnhn