Vintage Venetian Murano Glass Beads

Each bead was shaped by hand at a flame, one at a time, so no two are the same. The glassmaker wound molten glass around a thin metal rod, then built up the decoration while the glass was still hot: raised pink roses, tiny dots and a gold swirl. In Venice this style is called fiorato, "flowered". Collectors call these "wedding cake" beads, because the raised roses look like icing on a cake.

The gold shimmer is a Venetian invention: avventurina, a sparkling gold-flecked glass first made by Venetian glassmakers in the 1600s.

Venice moved all its glass furnaces to the island of Murano in 1291, and bead-making has carried on there for centuries. In 2020, UNESCO listed the art of glass beads of Italy and France as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Vintage, in perfect condition. Lovely as a statement bead on a bodice, a bag or a tassel.