Murano glass decorative finishes

Differences in decorative finishes in Murano glass

If we think about Murano glass, we imagine beautiful, highly decorated products. But do we know how these decorative finishes are made? And are they random or there is a particular technique to them? In this article we are going to have an insight of how Murano glass artworks get their stunning and astonishing finitures.

Three different decorative finishes.

Grinding, engraving and decoration.

Firstly, grinding is important for creating special effects. For example, giving the opaque effect to a product's surface (or sabbiato technique), or a not regular ground surface that recalls the effect of hammer blows, which can be normal (battuto technique) or softer (velato technique), or giving the product an irregular, rough effect (corroso technique).

Secondly, engraving. The engraver has the task of incising the object with various kinds of motifs. There are four different types of engraving techniques. The diamon point lets the artisan create patterns on the surface that will give the product brightness and elegance. The rotina technique consists of a small metal wheel that incises the surface with different kinds of depth. This technique gives the object a bas-relief effect. The sabbia technique consists of sandblast engraving the surface of the objects. Lastly, there is the acid etching technique. This one involves the application of an acid on the glass' surface after having painted the last one with bitumen. The acid will rough the surface, leaving the area with the bitumen intact.

Thirdly, decorating. This includes fusible enamels, cold painting and foglia d'oro graffita. Fusible enamels are paints made by colored glass and they are set on the product. After exposing the product to a temperature of 500-600 ° C, the paint melts and adheres to the surface. On the other hand, cold painting refers to the use of a non fired on paint to decor the surface of the product. To conclude, the "foglia d'oro" graffita consists in applying a thin layer of gold leaf to the glass surface with an adhesive. The decoration is scratched into the gold and then the whole product is heated up.

What are you waiting for? Buy now our magnificent Murano glass on our website. Here following some samples.