(2) Italian Murano Millefiori Art Glass Paperweights. One with a label on the underside reading "3 FIRO Fond.ta Vetrai Made in MURANO ITALY." 

Size: 2 1/2 x 4 in. 

The term “Murano” is most often applied to Venetian glassware made on the island of Murano near the city of Venice. It is made with a soda-lime “metal” and is typically elaborately decorated, with various “hot” glass-forming techniques, as well as gilding, enamel, or engraving. Murano was Europe’s major center for luxury glass from the High Middle Ages through the Italian Renaissance. During the Early Middle Ages, Venice was originally controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire before eventually becoming an independent city state. Its location along the sea coast gave it connections with the Middle East, where glassmaking was more advanced in areas such as Syria and Egypt. Although Venetian glassmaking existed as far back as the 8th Century, it became concentrated in Murano by law beginning in 1291 for a very specific reason:  since glass factories often caught fire, this removed the possibility of a major disaster for the city. Venetian glassmakers developed secret recipes and methods for making glass, and the concentration of Venice’s glassmaking on the island of Murano enabled better control of those secrets. Venice’s dominance in trade along the Mediterranean created a wealthy merchant class with a passion for the arts. The spread of glassmaking throughout Northern Europe, as well as the occupation and dissolution of the Venetian state by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797, caused the downfall of Murano’s monopoly. Murano glassmaking began a revival in the 1920s, and today the island (along with Venice) is a major tourist attraction, full of glass factories, museums, and individual artists’ studios.

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.