Murrine (singular: murrina) are colored patterns or images made in a glass

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...

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 glass Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as ...

makers 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 A marver is a tool used in glassblowing. It generally is made of a polished steel, brass, or graphite surface attached to a metal or wooden table. For fine applications such as lampworking, a smaller hand-held implement may instead be used. As a to ...

(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 Dante Marioni (born March 3, 1964 in Mill Valley, California) is an American glass artist. Biography Dante Marioni grew up among many artistic influences. His father, Paul Marioni, was involved in the American studio glass movement and, as a ...

- 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 - 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 ...

- American *

Lino Tagliapietra Lino Tagliapietra (born 1934) is an Italian glass artist originally from Venice, who has also worked extensively in the United States. As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and te ...

- Italian * Davide Salvadore - Italian * Giles Bettison - Australian * Stephen Boehme - American * Chelsea Bent/Zach Jorgenson - American * Benjamin Quix (PrecisionPulls) - American *

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. Berry ...

- American * Antonio Derrossi- Italian * Chris Judeman - American * Khalid Assakr -Egyptian * 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

References

Glass art Italian words and phrases {{Glass-art-stub

Examples

See also

References