Venetian glass beads are wonderful - they have long been the height of elegance and beauty in glass beads. They are produced in Murano, Italy. Back in 1291, the ruling Doges were afraid of the potential for a fire in Venice, so they banned the fire kilns and furnaces used to make glass beads from Venice. The manufacturers moved to Murano but couldn't go anywhere else for centuries because the Doges wanted to keep their monopoly over the glassmaking. This strict monopoly lasted for centuries. However, in the late 1600s, rival glassworks were set up in other countries, in such centres as London, Amsterdam and Bohemia.
You are probably familiar with millefiori glass cane mosaic beads. Their name refers to it seeming as if each bead is decorated with a thousand small flowers. An old technique once used by Phonecians and Romans, the artisans in Murano redeveloped it for their glassworks and we still have it to this day!
Photo courtesy of Iris Dragon's Flickr photostream.
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