Millefiori is the name given to a type of Murano glass that is filled with floral designs and means “a thousand flowers” in Italian. Murano glass is a type of Venetian glass named after an old glass-making region in Italy. Beads and jewelry are frequently made using the millefiori technique.
Murano glass is formed into rods and then used to make millefiori. The rods are made up of molten glass bits in a rainbow of colors. The process is known as “a thousand flowers” because the tiny spots of color often form many flower-like patterns in the glass. The patterned glass is then placed in molds to create a second layer of glass.
As they walk in opposite directions, two glass makers each pull the glass. The glass is pulled into a long rod. The glass rod is sliced after it has cooled so that the pattern can be seen through each slice. Murrines are individual pieces of millefiori Murano glass.
To make jewelry pendants and other objects, murrines are placed in a mold and heated. Murrine pendants were not made until 1968, when a copper ring was used as a mold for a variety of millefiori pendant shapes like crosses, hearts, and circles. The murrine millefiori pendants have been polished to bring out their fine details.
The millefiori technique is now used to make jewelry beads out of polymer clay. Murano glass beads, also known as Italian millefiori beads, are popular in modern jewelry design. Both types of patterned beads appear to have been painted with tiny flowers and other details, but this is not the case because the traditional millefiori method is used. When it comes to polymer clay, the millefiori effect is achieved using canes, which are multi-colored clay rods. The canes are placed lengthwise in a clay roll, which is then sliced to reveal the pattern.
Many art glass items, such as vases, feature millefiori. There are also small lamp shades and bowls available. To create unique art pieces with a millefiori pattern, some artists combine Murano glass techniques with mouth blown glass techniques.