Description
Wedding cake & MILLEFIORI When I first started collecting Millefiori, I came across the wedding cake bead. Made famous in Venice, wedding cake beads look like little cakes with "icing" of swirls, dots, flowers & aventurine, which consists of metallic bits, usually copper, to give it sparkle. Millefiori glass beads were made famous in Venice in the 1800s millefiori"means "thousand flowers". I also love the very intricate designs in the mosaic beads with all the faces in the beads, & the intricate designs . Both types of beads are made using thin rods of different colors of glass are bundled together, with the ends of the rods forming a design, such as flowers. The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods, known as murrine, with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. Materials for the murine are taken from the Earth. A murrine rod is heated in a furnace & pulled until thin while still maintaining the cross section's design. It is then cut into beads or discs when cooled. The artist create the most amazing designs. The better the artist, the better than designs. The bundle is fused together, then cross section slices are cut off, jelly-roll fashion. These slices are applied & melted over a glass core. The resulting bead has a three dimensional look filled with flowers or other patterns. Many The creators make the most amazing designs. The better the artist, the better than designs. I use the Millefiori beads along with the Swarovski beads & create one-of-a-kind, custom-made designs. I call it "The Dance". Antique Italian Murano Wedding Cake Rectangle, Bead. 1920's. 15+mm Pink 1 Bead
