How a Millefiori Pendant is Made (Technique and History)

The design of Murano Millefiori pendants originatedmake a longer rod with a smaller diameter. By
in the middle of the 1800's, but they haverepeatedly cutting the rod, and drawing it out
evolved from a technique that goes back muchagain, it's possible to scale down the design as
further. The basic technique of producingsmall as desired.
concentric ring patterns has been seen inDuring the Renaissance peak of Murano glass
glassware from Ancient Rome and Alexandria.production, Murrine were mostly used for making
The technique was further enhanced at Muranodecorative spheres, glass pearls, and walking
during the Renaissance period, eventually evolvingcanes. Classic Millefiori jewelry arrived later, but
into the modern techniques that make Millefiorinot before a dark period in Murano's history. In
pendants, and other Millefiori jewelry, so popularthe 18th Century, Napoleon imposed stiff taxes
today.on Murano glass, he wanted to crush the industry
Many glass working techniques involvefor political reasons. Only a handful of kilns
manipulating a blob of molten glass on the end ofremained open, doing what they could to pass on
a metal rod. Ancient glass workers would knead athe glass making skills to successive generations.
blob of colored glass into a rod shape, and thenForeign control of the area finally weakened in the
dip it into molten glass of different colors, so thatearly 1800's, and Murano's glass workers exploited
layers of different colored glass would be built up.the political distractions of the period to rebuild
A cross section of the rod would show a patterntheir industry. It was in this period that Murano
of concentric colored rings, and this was exploitedMillefiori designs started to appear, in the form of
by slicing the rod into disks, and then fusing themMillefiori pendants and other Millefiori jewelry.
onto glassware to form a pattern.Millefiori is an Italian word meaning 'a thousand
These rods are called Murrine, and it's believed theflowers'. It first appeared in the Oxford English
technique for making them was brought toDictionary in 1849, this gives an indication of when
Venice by Byzantine glass workers, fleeingthe rebirth of the technique became common
Constantinople after it's defeat in the 4th crusade.knowledge outside Venice's glass making circles.
Shortly after, Venice's glass workers wereMillefiori pendants are made by taking slices from
confined to the island of Murano due to the firethin drawn out Murrine, and arranging them in
risk from their kilns. Having so many skilled glasscircular patterns in a disk shaped mold. The gaps
workers in a confined area led to Muranoare filled in with glass powder before firing in a kiln
becoming a center of excellence for artisticto fuse the whole design into a single piece of
glassware, they went on to dominate the marketglass. Similar techniques are used for other
for several hundred years.Millefiori jewelry items, in particular cufflinks and
Around the end of the 15th Century, Mariettaearings. Millefiori glass is also used for other
Barovier, daughter of the famous Master glassornaments, such as bowels and plates.
worker Angelo Barovier, pioneered a techniqueThe molds at the heart of Millefiori glass making
that formed a star pattern in the center of theare fixed, but the designs they produce are
design. The molten glass rod was pressed into acompletely unique. The colors used, the number
metal mold to make it into a star shaped rod,of layers added, the way the Murrine are drawn,
which was then fired in a cylindrical mold packednot to mention the liquid nature of the molten
with glass powder of a different color. Thisglass, means that each Murrine has it's own
restored the cylindrical shape, with the starindividual characteristics. Then the cut sections of
pattern embedded in the center.Murrine are selected and placed by hand to form
Different mold patterns were added, leading tothe overall Millefiori design, with the final firing
the petal shaped designs that characterize Muranoadding its own little element of randomness into
Millefiori glass. Murrine are quite short and fatthe myriad of Millefiori patterns. No two pieces of
when first made, typically about 6 inches long andMillefiori glass are identical, adding to the attraction
3 inches in diameter, they are then drawn out toof the beautiful colorful designs.