108 
House & Garden 
VV HETHER building, 
remodeling or redecorating, 
you will find Riddle Fitments 
a most satisfactory solution to 
the problem of beautiful light¬ 
ing equipment. 
The Riddle Fitment 
Booklet 
portrays the fitments in the 
actual colors of the beautiful and 
unique Estofado Decoration. 
Copy, with dealer’s name, sent 
upon request. 
The Edward N. Riddle Co. 
253 Riddle Building, Toledo, Ohio 
"Floor Lamp, No. 625, $35 
Table Lamp, No. 650, $40 
Console Stick, $15 pair 
Venetian Glass 
(Continued from page 106) 
but they do not appeal so much to 
popular taste as the more transparent 
“cristallo”, the very individual and 
typical discover}' at Murano,—the deli¬ 
cate, gossamer glass, thin and light as 
air almost. There was a certain strength 
required to hold it together, as well as 
great ductility to permit blowing into 
fantastic forms, a quality that led to 
absurdly exaggerated shapes when taste 
began to decline. It was never abso¬ 
lutely clear as modern glass is, and 
when taken to an alien climate, like 
that of England, took on a misty 
cloudiness. Pale tints of color were 
used in the substance of many gob¬ 
lets and vases, and deeper colored 
spirals and studdings, which are a 
typical decoration, and show the 
facility acquired by Venetian work¬ 
men. Old Roman processes were re¬ 
discovered, of blending colors in 
marbled effects, and the Roman 
“millefiori” process. One of the best 
known Venetian varieties is the “Vetro 
di Trina”, or lace-glass, in which slen¬ 
der threads of opaque white appear 
as a network imbedded in a trans¬ 
parent ground. 
The glass beads that are so connected 
with Venice in the minds of modern 
travelers belong to her early history. 
Beads of course are as old as Egypt, 
and an adornment of primitive man. 
One tradition in regard to Venetian 
beads is that the explorations of Marco 
Polo prompted their extensive manu¬ 
facture for African trade. 
The invention of mirrors of glass to 
supersede the polished metal mirrors 
of antiquity is an achievement at¬ 
tributed to Venice with certainty. 
Mirrors became a very important part 
of the Murano industry, but in this 
department there was soon German 
competition, and that of French and 
English makers in the 17th Century. 
In the story of Venetian glass the 
chapter relating to mirrors, if it could 
be written in full, would no doubt be 
full of vicissitudes. 
Belonging to 17th Century develop¬ 
ments are the elaborate chandeliers 
that were a part of the decoration of 
Venetian palaces of a late period. 
These, if somewhat rococo, are very 
charming in their original surround¬ 
ings, and are also capable of being 
adapted to modern interiors. The metal 
framework was completely covered by 
applications of opalescent glass ' in 
foliage patterns, and wax candles 
gleaming in this setting in the old re¬ 
ception rooms must have looked most 
inviting and gay, giving, as a French 
comment on these chandeliers says 
“une note claire et joyeuse” to an 
apartment. 
By the 17th Century Murano no 
longer stood alone in the manufacture 
of fine and artistic glass. The art had 
become well established in other Euro¬ 
pean countries. Bohemian glass was 
from the first particularly a rival of 
Venetian, and their discovery of en¬ 
graving upon glass, and the new 
methods of cutting that could not be 
successfully applied to the thin and 
most characteristic composition of 
Murano, contributed to the decline 
that was rapidly completed by politi¬ 
cal downfall. Nevertheless Venice did 
not yield without efforts to stem the 
tide of the temporary eclipse of her 
historic industry. An 18th Century 
master of glass arose, Guiseppe Briati, 
who was celebrated not only for carry¬ 
ing on old traditions, but also for his 
quite modern enterprise. He went to 
Bohemia to learn new methods, secret¬ 
ly it is said, and in disguise, and in¬ 
troduced them on his return, obtaining 
a permit to make glass in the Bohemi¬ 
an manner in 1736. 
At the beginning of the 19th Cen¬ 
tury the Venetian glass industry was 
all but dead. About 1838, efforts to 
revive it began, which finally led to 
the modern 19th Century renaissance, 
due to the initiative and efforts of 
Antonio Salviati, assisted by English 
enthusiasts, and English capital. Since 
then there has been a copious output 
from the Murano factories. The most 
famous Italian glass has always been 
much appreciated by Americans. From 
inexpensive strings of beads to fragile 
articles de luxe it has been included 
in the European tokens of returning 
travelers, as well as being found in our 
shops. Inquiry for Murano glass now¬ 
adays reveals the fact that there are 
not many importations at present. 
American manufacturers are imitating 
the Venetian style in a general way, 
copying old shapes and coloring, and 
even sometimes the little flaws. As in 
the old days Bohemian glass competed 
in world markets, now Czechoslovakia 
is already to the fore, and sending out 
some artistic glass. 
American glass has not been with¬ 
out originality from the first, and the 
modem Tiffany “Favrile” invention, 
making artistic use of the iridescence 
acquired by antique glass through 
the lapse of time, has become known 
everywhere, ranking with the produc¬ 
tions of Galle, and other European 
artists. 
In the making of glass modern 
mechanical processes have never alto¬ 
gether done away with the old crafts¬ 
man idea, which has come down 
through the centuries, and which was 
so brilliantly exemplified in the factor¬ 
ies at Murano. 
Mary MacAlister 
