Art Institute of Chicago

Goblet

Italian

Date

c. 1600

Medium

Glass (vetro a reticello)

Culture

Venice

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The spiraling white opaque latticework in the glass of this goblet, called filigrana (filigree) or reticello (network), was a technique developed in Murano, a small island located off the coast of Venice devoted to glasswork. This effect was achieved by rolling a mass of clear molten glass over white glass canes or small rods and blowing it into a tube. Then a second tube fused with white canes tilted in an alternate direction was blown into the walls of the first and formed into the finished goblet. On close inspection of the walls of the goblet, tiny air bubbles are found between each crossing white cane, permanently trapped between the two layers. Murano dominated the European luxury glass market in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Reticello goblets like this were highly sought by nobles to decorate their feasting tables, signifying their wealth and good taste.

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