Basic Introduction to Italian Glass Artifacts
As early as the 15th century, with the invention of glass-blowing techniques and the development of processes such as manufacturing milk glass, Italy's glass industry was already thriving. The glass products made here are characterized by exquisite shapes and finely detailed craftsmanship, which makes them highly favored by consumers. Copper oxide added to the glass produces green; cobalt, blue; and gold, red glass – a specialty of Italy. Common glass-forming methods include blowing, pressing, drawing, casting, and rolling.
Product Characteristics
Art glass is an item that uses colored art glass as its medium and combines various fine arts techniques to recreate reality, emotion, and ideals, bringing together imagination to achieve the mutual objectification of the aesthetic subject and the aesthetic object. To be more specific, colored art glass is a reflection of people's spiritual world in their daily lives and is also the organic product of artists' perceptions, emotions, ideals, and intentions.
Historical Folklore
The history of Venetian glass in Italy can be traced back to after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when glassmaking techniques from the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East were brought to Venice by refugees. By 982 AD, the glass industry in Venice had reached a significant scale, and for over seven centuries, the techniques for making glass continued to evolve. Starting in the 13th century, the island of Murano in Venice became home to workshops dedicated to glass production. Since the 15th century, Venice has been Europe's most famous center for glass production. The glassware produced there is so pure it rivals natural crystal. Today, Venetian glass is sold in countries such as the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, and Spain, but no other country can produce glassware that matches its quality.
Manufacturing Methods
Glass artisans take a long iron tube, dip one end into a furnace heated to a bright red, and retrieve molten glass paste. They place this on an iron stand in front of the furnace and, while blowing through the other end of the iron tube, use iron tongs to shape the viscous glass paste by pulling or bending it. In no time at all, a lifelike glass artifact is completed.