HAKONE VENETIAN GLASS MUSEUM

Since the time of ancient Rome to today, Venetian glass has been a major part of Venetian history and has set the destiny of people on Murano.

The Roman Empire

The history of Venetian glass started with Roman glass in the Roman Empire (1st century BC to 5th century AD). Glassblowing was a revolutionary invention already used by many glass factories throughout the Italian peninsula. Glassmaking techniques and glassware spread throughout the world. However, with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the glass industry quickly declined.

Rialto

In the 8th century, the central part of the Venetian Republic moved to Rialto, where many churches and cathedrals were built all over the island. Many glass factories also moved to Rialto.

Booming glass industry

In 1078, the reconstruction of St. Mark’s Basilica started. Glass mosaics were installed on all the walls. According to historical documents, 29 glassworkers were fined for violating glassmaking customs and regulations. This indicates a booming glass industry.

Governmental protection and control

The 13th century saw major involvement of the government in the Venetian glass industry. It formed the Venetian Glass Guild in 1268, concluded contracts with Antioch (Syria’s largest producer of glass) to import raw glass materials, directly controlled firewood to streamline fuel management, and banned operations in summer.
Then in 1291, the Venetian government, seeking to protect the Venetian glass industry, enacted a law to require all glass makers, assistants, and their families to move to Murano island. Any escapees would be punished with death. The development of Venetian glass then centered on Murano.

The heyday of Venetian glass

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Venetian glass developed under the strong influence of Byzantine and Islamic aesthetics, especially in enameling techniques and designs. In the 15th century, it matured further with the backdrop of the Italian Renaissance.
In the latter half of the 16th century, Venetian glass reached its zenith with many groundbreaking techniques for finer and more splendid designs like diamond-point engraving, lace glass (filigrana), crystal glass, crackled glass, and marbled glass. Glassware in diverse forms for diverse functions were produced.

Hard times

In the 18th century, a new industrialism emerged in Europe when countries imposed high tariffs on imported goods to protect domestic industries. As a result, glass-producing countries suffered a drastic drop in exports and many glass factories went bankrupt. Murano was no exception.
To overcome these hard times, Murano glassmakers did whatever they could to survive by producing finer mosaics, church interiors and ornaments, and exporting to Africa and Southeast Asia. However, the dissolution of the Venetian Republic in 1797 marked the end of governmental patronage of the glass industry. Ten years later in 1806, Murano’s venerable glassmakers’ guild was forced to disband after 500 years.

The modernization of Venetian glass

While Murano’s glass industry faced stagnation, modernization kicked off a new era in the 19th century. Many museums and archives were established as new platforms for industry and education. The new museums needed vintage artifacts to be exhibited. But there were not enough of them, so Murano’s master glassmakers created replicas of ancient glassware.
This was followed by their glass mosaic techniques with colored glass inimitable by any glassmaker in any other country. They restored old church murals and created a new sector for interior design glasswork. It was a new beginning after a period of hardship.
Murano also saw many new movements. They included the construction of modern factories, the loosening of the closed system, the establishment of educational institutions for apprentices, the construction of glass museums, and the organizing of exhibitions and research societies. Through the cooperation of pioneering leaders and traditional craftsmen, Venetian glass arose from a dark period to go forward on the path to modernization.