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Posted on April 1, 2006 by Joanne Dorin | Posted under Interior Decorating
Murano Glass Chandelier
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If you're wondering why Murano would take the title it's really quite simple. Exquisite beauty, timeless elegance, art with a capital A, class with style. Need I say more? Want proof? Simply do a quick search for Murano chandeliers and you'll discover some great sites online offering beautiful fixtures. So where did Murano glass come from and what makes it so terribly special? Art glass isn't new and man's relationship with glass dates back to ancient times when magicians gazed into crystal balls to tell the future. Glass has always been associated with beauty and glass blowing dates back centuries producing timeless beauty in art. Glass blowing in Venice dates back to the first millennium. Venice has over 1000 years of tradition in glass blowing and except for a few technical changes to the furnaces not much has changed in the art. Glass masters today still use the same glass blower pipers and the same instruments they did 1000 years ago and Murano has become one of the most important Venetian glass blowing centers. Today Venetian glass is recognized around the world as one of the best in quality and form. Murano glass has an aesthetic quality like no other. From the lattice work to the mosaics. From the cobalt blues to the polychromatic glazes. From the original to the traditional. From the delicate styles to the bold and powerful styles. Murano has truly learned to capture the magic of glass through time and tradition. There are master glass blowers throughout the world, so what makes Venetian glass from Murano so special? The differences are subtle but these are the differences that take the glass from ordinary to extraordinaire. Silica is the base ingredient to glass and sand is the most common form of silica used. The problem with sand is has many impurities which can discolor the glass and cause defects. The ability to produce clear glass with no defects was a difficult one but Venetian masters used only the best raw materials. So rather than sand they used quartz pebbles that they collected along the Adige and Ticino rivers. The pebbles were as pure of form of silica as one might find. The next important raw material was the fluxing agent which is the agent that lowers the melting point of the glass. There are many different fluxing agents but Venetian glass always used Levant soda ash which they had the monopoly on. They then added magnesium from Piemont which was called glassmakers soap. The use of the purest materials resulted in the production of the highest quality art glass on the planet. Now of course the glassmaker's skills are important too! So it was really a combination of the "best of the best." Murano glassmakers produced and still produce the most stunning pieces of art glass with a quality that's second to none. They are recognized around the world for their technological advancements, and their quickness to set trends. Venetian glass from Murano is still the most sought after art glass and rightfully so as it still remains the best. Picture the purest color possible, the most equisite design producable, the most unique style imaginable and you are looking at Murano glass. Joanne is an author of Decorz.com. If you're looking for more lighting decor ideas for your home visit http://www.decorz.com. About The Author: |
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