Study Days on Venetian Glass, Venetian Glass in France and England

Venice, Italy, September 16-18, 2025

Organised with the collaboration of:

AIHV- Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre– Comitato Nazionale Italiano

Museo del Vetro-Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia

The “Study Days on Venetian Glass” are an opportunity for the in-depth study of Venetian glass and are geared towards an audience of glass scholars, museum curators, conservators, scientists and collectors.

The program includes lectures by art historians and glass experts. All the participants are invited to present the results of their studies and research on this subject. Every lecture is followed by a discussion. Lectures and discussions will be held in English.

The theme of 2025’s edition is:

Venetian Glass in France and England and its influence in their glass production.

In Renaissance times, Venetian glass vessels were exported to France and England, through naval convoys, organized by the Serenissima, called mude, or via Florentine merchant banking companies. These were also sent as diplomatic gifts. Sometimes they were commissioned by the royal family and wealthy upper classes. Among the glass items sent to France, the ones enamelled with the coat of arms of the queen of France, Anne de Bretagne (1499-1514), stand out, as for those shipped to England, the white opaque glass vase with the portrait of the king Henry VII and his device, is among the few rare enamelled lattimo vessels of the early 16^th century.

Archive documents and inventories attest the presence of different types and techniques of Venetian glass items sent to these countries, including some that were designed following the taste and shapes much in fashion in France and England.

In the second half of the 16^th century, in London, glass items à la façon de Venise began to be in production, also in virtue of the arrival of Murano glassmakers notably of Jacopo Verzelini. Later, England developed its own specific glass industry due also to the work of George Ravenscroft and his lead – crystal glass.

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries Venetian glass influenced the production of French glassmakers who developed their own style and production of artefacts, including several particular enamelled glass vessels which were also exported to some European countries, such as England.

The topics that will be touched upon will include:

General overview of the history and art history of glass with a focus on Venetian, English and French glass vessels; raw materials and casting/processing techniques; Archaeometry; Conservation and Restoration; discussion about individual pieces in museum collections; archaeological finds; recovery techniques and ancient models during the nineteenth century.

Programme of the 2024 Study Days

https://www.istitutoveneto.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/2036