Antique Venetian Glassware – an Introduction

Author: Scott James

From the 15th Century onwards, if you were of any standing in the world of glassware and production then the chances you were based in Venice. Antique Venetian Glassware from this period onwards really came into its own and the glassmakers introduced many different types of glass and effective combinations of coloured glass that had hitherto been unimaginable.

In the late 15th Century, a milky opaque “white glass” was developed by adding tin oxide into the mix when the material was heated and then blown. This glass resembled porcelain and was highly popular.

Antique Glassware has three basic categories. Soda Glass which is occasionally or sometimes referred to as soda-lime glass, potash and lead glass. This latter category is sometimes referred to as Lead Crystal.

Each of these categories of Antique Venetian Glassware has their own individual source of and mix of ingredients and as such these lead to each type and variety of Antique Glassware having their own individual characteristics and peculiarities.

The sort of thing we are talking about here would be colour, light refraction and handling abilities, resonance and weight etc.

Lastly as you can imagine depending upon the level of skill, age and condition, Antique Venetian Glassware can vary in price from the very cheap to the prohibitively expensive depending upon your budget.

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