millefiori
Mosaic glass technique
Millefiori is a glassmaking technique where rods of colored glass are fused together, then sliced crosswise to reveal intricate floral or geometric patterns—like cutting through a candy cane to see its stripes.
The term is Italian for "thousand flowers," describing the effect of the clustered designs.
Millefiori appears in paperweights, beads, and decorative objects: a millefiori pendant, Victorian millefiori paperweights.
Lagoon city, northeastern Italy
- ItalyBoot-shaped European nation
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- VenetianOf or from Venice
- traditionCustom passed through generations
artisans · chandeliers · vases · goblets · paperweights · beads · pendants · jewelry
Of or like blooms
- mosaicInlaid pictorial arrangement
- kaleidoscopeTube with rotating color symmetry
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
geometric · motifs · tessellation · concentric · rosettes · stars · spirals · petals
Objects anchoring loose documents
- beadsSmall pierced ornaments for stringing
- pendantsJewelry that hangs
- jewelryOrnamental personal accessories
- vasesContainers for cut flowers
ornaments · buttons · marbles · cabochons · figurines · sculptures · lamps · bowls
Venice
Lagoon city, northeastern Italy
- ItalyBoot-shaped European nation
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- VenetianOf or from Venice
tradition · artisans · chandeliers · vases · goblets · paperweights · beads · pendants · jewelry · collectibles
floral
Of or like blooms
- mosaicInlaid pictorial arrangement
- kaleidoscopeTube with rotating color symmetry
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
symmetry · geometric · motifs · tessellation · concentric · rosettes · stars · spirals · petals · clusters
paperweights
Objects anchoring loose documents
- beadsSmall pierced ornaments for stringing
- pendantsJewelry that hangs
- jewelryOrnamental personal accessories
vases · ornaments · buttons · marbles · cabochons · figurines · sculptures · lamps · bowls · dishes
canes
Supportive walking sticks
- lampworkShaping glass with torches
- glassblowingCrafting molten silica by inflation
- furnaceEnclosed heat-producing structure
kiln · annealing · blowpipe · fusing · slicing · bundling · stretching · molten · rods · cross-section
precision
Accuracy of measurement
- handmadeCreated manually, not mechanically
- artisanSkilled manual tradesperson
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
skill · mastery · tradition · patience · bundling · stretching · slicing · arranging · fusing · encasing
- ornamentationornaments, ornament, ornamentation, ornamental, embellishment
- glassworkart glass, glass sculpture, glass art, blown glass, glass blowing
- Murano glassVenetian glass, blown glass, chandeliers, vases, beads
- ancient glassblown glass, glass vessels, glass beads, cameo glass, glassblowing
- glass artstained glass, blown glass, glass etching, lampwork, chandeliers
- glassmakingglassblowing, blown glass, furnace, cameo glass, kiln
millefioriblown glass
Air-shaped molten silica
glassblowing · clear glass · sheet glass · lampwork · window glass
millefioriunpatterned
Lacking repeated design
plain · unadorned · minimalist · undecorated · unembellished