The Golden Age of Venetian Glass - Jane Gardiner

The stylistic development of glass produced in Venice from the late 15th century to the late 17th century, seen through actual objects and through paintings. During this lecture, we will look at the early history of glassmaking in Venice, the material itself and the techniques involved in forming and decorating the pieces. We will discuss the early fashion for richly coloured and enameled glass, the sources of inspiration behind the forms and the decoration, who would have owned the pieces and how they would have been used or displayed. We will also consider the desire for luxury objects in the Renaissance, the new liking in the 16th century for clear glass or cristallo and the fashion for fine glass drinking vessels which followed on from this. Finally, we will examine the spread of this fashion throughout Europe, the resulting trade and the gradual spread of glassmaking skills to other parts of Europe.