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In the mean time, the old Amurianum, as the island of
Murano has been called in honour of one of the ports of
Altino, grew in prestige. So much so as to be considered
separate from the other Venetian islands, enjoying a certain
liberty afforded by the "Signoria" (ruling class). Such
privilege was assigned in virtue of the furnaces that were
installed there and consequently the economic importance
that Murano began to have in the social fabric of the
Serenissima. By verdict of the Doge and carried over by Doge
Tiepolo in 1291, the island of Murano was declared a true and
proper industrial area and soon became the capital of glass
production in the world. The Doge was represented by a
head of state and flanked by a popular council called Arengo, among
the various privileges they were afforded was the so called
"Libro d'Oro" or golden book where the names of the most
important families were recorded. The icon of the "oselle" or
the conservation of the symbol (the rooster carrying a fox on
it's back and a serpent in it's beak) is the extraordinary
concession that the families of Murano shared with the
nobility of Venice. The affinity between Venice and Murano is
curiously seen in the morphology of the two cities which
presents the same public squares, streets, internal canals
and even the same "Grand Canal" which runs through it.
It was deemed necessary to construct an order in the
productive cycle from the buying of raw materials to the
formation of Glass Masters and the preservation of the
product. These rules were transcribed from classic latin into
a more known language. This transcription took place in the
first half of the 1400's with the writing and approval of
"Mariegole della arte dei verieri de Muran" (rules of the art
of glass_blowing of Murano) and is preserved at the Correr
Museum in Venice. The manuscript with a frontispiece
illustrating Saint Anthony Abate , patron saint of glassblowers,
is bound in a velvet and gold cover (17th Century).
Along with the category of glass-blower who was dedicated to
the production of blown or hollowed out glass other
catagories were added such as; mirror-maker and window-pane
maker and in particular rolled glass bound in strips of lead
(leaded glass maker). There was also the category of glass
flower-maker, bead and "conterie" maker. The name "conterie"
or counter is thought to have come from the habit of using
beads almost like currency considering the quantity and
diffusion throughout the countries with which the Venetian
Republic traded. All of the glass-making specialties were
represented in the internal council which were elected each
year and were composed of furnace owners and the
"Stazionieri", that is to say the sellers who were intrusted
with the job of selling the final products. Hierarchies grew
up around the furnaces that governed the production
activities in the "Piazza" (local square) with the "maestri"
(glass masters), "garzoni" and "garzonetti" (lackies),
"serventi" and "serventini" (trainees) and not least of all the
"forcelanti" (glass-cutters)
who were at the direct dependence of the Glass
Master to whom which he paid solicitous respect seeing in him
not only a teacher but above all as mentor.
Murano glass has know moments of glory over the
centuries as well as moments of decline. However it has
always been characterized by an obsessive search for
quality. In fact Murano's motives in its pride has always
been its aesthetic quality which has often contrasted with
its competition and has frustrated attempts at imitation.
Through out the history of art, the hollow blown glass of
Murano has forged it's own path, it's strength being in its
variation of type and class. From its poly-chromatic glazes
and the gold in the cobalt blue of the Barovier cup to the
lightness and transparency of its glasses; from the
delicateness of the lattice-work to the originality of Murano
glass; from the mosaics to the counting beads; from the panes
of glass to the mirrors, it all represents the original
history of glass. Just as painting and sculpture, interior
design, mode and jewelry have become entwined in the history
of Murano, considering the versatility of the material to
adapt to other forms of artistic expression. Especially
today, in fact many artist have felt the need to shape,
through the knowledgeable hands of the master glass-blowers
of Murano, their ideas through the magic of glass, in search
of significance in their works of art in the very
profoundness of the material's transparency.
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