Glass that will leave you gasping

FOR CENTURIES, Murano glass chandeliers have been symbols of style and taste, representing both luxury and opulence. Murano – a group of islands in the Venetian lagoon – is famous for glassmaking, particularly lamp-working, and its products are named after the area. The delicate works of Murano glass have been crafted into everything from contemporary art glass and glass figurines to wine stoppers and chandeliers, as well as tourist souvenirs.

Murano’s glassmakers led Europe for centuries, developing and refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enamelled glass, glass with threads of gold, multicoloured glass, milk glass and imitation gemstones made of glass. 

But it wasn’t until the 18th century that they started to introduce products such as glass mirrors and chandeliers. 

These new types of chandelier were called “ciocca”, literally bouquet of flowers, for their characteristic decorations of glazed polychrome flowers. The most sumptuous consisted of a metal frame covered with small elements in blown glass, transparent or coloured, with decorations of flowers, fruits and leaves, while simpler models had arms made from a unique piece of glass.

The typical Murano chandeliers such as the famous “Ciocche” and “Ca’ Rezzonico” and other original glassworks were completely realised by hand with each detail of the chandeliers, especially the arms, formed by many small pieces of glass. Every shape of glass had to be masterfully executed because any outsize piece wouldn’t fit to be mounted between the others. The Rezzonico chandelier, which now hangs in a Venetian museum, is an example of the ability of the Italian craftsmanship to adapt to changes and to offer new and innovative solutions to the mutation of architectural needs.

As much as the old style chandeliers are loved, the development in designs of Murano glass has never stopped. Today, the use of glass for lighting has grown with the former florid style giving way to a multitude of designs.

Already a very flexible material, the glass is now shaped and coloured using modern methods and features more complex and spectacular designs than ever before. Examples of these works can be found in lighting designs from Penta, Anna Torfs and Arte di Murano. The glorious Glo collection by Penta has impressed thanks to the elegant design of the chandeliers. The outer shade is transparent, tinted with beautiful colours like gold and rose-gold and styled to look like a glass bubble with a bell shape inside.

Torfs’s works, especially her Objects collection, define modern glasswork with their stunning eccentric shapes. Using adapted traditional techniques like cutting and sanding and pushing the technical boundaries to create exciting innovations, Torfs focuses on making objects that define unconventional luxury with the use of classic materials. 

French artist Vanessa Mitrani also creates beautiful and functional hand-blown glass decorative vessels that can function as fish tanks or fishbowls featuring aluminium cast fish half in and half out of their glass bowls. 

The Murano glasswork collections of meticulous chandeliers, lighting, and home accessories from various brands are available at Motif on the third floor of Erawan Bangkok.