Murrine (singular: murrina) are colored patterns or images made in a glass cane that are revealed when the cane is cut into thin cross-sections. Murrine can be made in infinite designs from simple circular or square patterns to complex detailed designs to even portraits of people. One familiar style is the flower or star shape which, when used together in large numbers from a number of different canes, is called
millefiori
Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...
.
Murrine production first appeared in the Middle East more than 4,000 years ago and was revived by Venetian glassmakers on Murano in the early 16th century.Carl I. Gable, ''Murano Magic: Complete Guide to Venetian Glass, its History and Artists'' (Schiffer, 2004), p. 37. .
Once murrine have been made, they can be incorporated into a glass vessel or sculpture in several ways. A number of murrine may be scattered, more or less randomly, on a marver (steel table) and then picked up on the surface of a partially-blown glass bubble. Further blowing, heating, and shaping on the marver will incorporate the murrine completely into the bubble, creating a random arrangement of murrine in the vessel or sculpture being blown.
Alternatively, the murrine can be arranged in a compact pattern on a ceramic plate and then heated in a furnace until they fuse into a single sheet. The sheet can be formed over a mold (such as an inverted bowl shape) and further heated so that the murrine are slumped to take the desired form.
Another technique using a sheet of murrine made as above is to make a small disc (collar) of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, and then roll the disc along one edge of the sheet, picking up the sheet on the blowpipe in the form of a cylinder. The end of the cylinder opposite the blowpipe can be squeezed together and sealed. With further heating, the sealed cylinder can be blown and formed into any shape a glassblower can make.
Many notable glass artists regularly use murrine in their work. These include:
* Dante Marioni - American
*
Richard Marquis
Richard "Dick" Marquis (born 1945) is an American studio glass artist. One of the first Americans ever to work in a Venetian glass factory, he became a master of Venetian cane and murrine techniques. He is considered a pioneer of American conte ...
- American
*
David Patchen
David Scott Patchen is an American glass artist who uses the techniques of cane and murrine in an American style. (Cane are colored and patterned glass rods, murrine are patterned cross-sections of glass 'tiles'.) Patchen's work is known p ...
- American
*
Stephen Rolfe Powell
Stephen "Steve" Rolfe Powell (1951–2019) was an American glass artist based at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, who created elaborately colored three-foot glass vessels incorporating murrine.
Early life and education
Powell was born ...
- American (D. 2019)
*
Richard Ritter
Richard Ritter (born 1940) is an American studio glass artist who lives in North Carolina.
Early life
Ritter was born in Detroit, but grew up in the then rural Michigan town of Novi. He was inspired to pursue a career in art by his high school ...
- American
*
Kait Rhoads
Kait Rhoads (born 1968) is an American glass artist. She uses traditional Italian techniques as a base to create public art, sculpture, vessels and jewelry. The aquatic realm is the root of much of her work, the result of spending six years on a bo ...
Davide Salvadore Davide is an Italian given name (common) and an Italian/ Filipino surname (relatively rare), and may refer to:
Given name
* Davide Alviti (born 1996), Italian basketball player
* Davide Ancilotto (1974–1997), Italian basketball player
* David ...
- Italian
*
Giles Bettison
Giles may refer to:
People
* Giles (given name), male given name (Latin: ''Aegidius'')
* Giles (surname), family name
* Saint Giles (650–710), 7th–8th-century Christian hermit saint
* Giles of Assisi, Aegidius of Assisi, 13th-century compa ...
- Australian
*
Stephen Boehme
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to deat ...
Lucy Bergamini
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...
- American
*
Loren Stump
Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to:
Given name Men
* Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut
* Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids
* Loren M. Berr ...
- American
*
Antonio Derrossi
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...
- Italian
*
Chris Judeman
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
*Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
- American
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Khalid Assakr
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.Karl Taylor - American
*
Andy Buckles
Andy may refer to:
People
* Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
* Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...
- American
Examples
File:Example simple murrine Patchen.jpg, An example of simple murrine in a vessel by David Patchen.
File:Murrine Foglio - David Patchen.jpg, A random pattern of different murrine incorporated into blown glass by David Patchen.
File:MurrineVesselGilesBettison.jpg, A murrine vessel by artist Giles Bettison. Approximately 8" x 5" x 1 1/2"
File:MurrinePanelGilesBettison.jpg, A murrine glass panel by artist Giles Bettison. Approximately 30" x 18"
File:Murrine Foglio detail2 - David Patchen.jpg, Close-up of transparent murrine incorporated into a vessel by David Patchen.
File:Murrine Foglio detail - David Patchen.jpg, Close up of pattern of different murrine incorporated into blown glass.
File:Blue Murrine Vase by Eli Crystal.jpg, Blue murrine pattern used for a glass vase by Eli Crystal
See also
*
Caneworking
In glassblowing, cane refers to rods of glass with color; these rods can be simple, containing a single color, or they can be complex and contain strands of one or several colors in pattern.
Caneworking refers to the process of making cane, and ...
Glass art
Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glas ...
*
Millefiori
Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...
