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 blind or visually i ...

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 – American * David Patchen – American * Stephen Rolfe Powell – American (D. 2019) * Richard Ritter – American * Kait Rhoads – 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

Examples

File:7034DavidPatchenExampleofMurrine.jpg, Murrine work by artist David Patchen 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