millefiori glass

millefiori glass, (Italian: “thousand flowers”), type of mosaic glassware characterized by a flowerlike pattern. It is produced by first heating a bundle of thin glass rods of different colours until the rods fuse together. The bundle is pulled thin, cooled, and sliced cross-sectionally to produce small disks with flowerlike designs. These disks are applied to hot blown glassware such as a vase or bowl, which is then reheated and blown a second time. The resulting product is a brilliantly coloured piece of glassware with an intricate, fade-resistant ornamental design.

The technique of millefiori glassmaking was invented by the ancient Egyptians and known to be used by Alexandrian craftsmen in the 2nd century bc. It was then developed by the Romans in the 1st century bc and revived and refined by Venetian glassmakers in the 15th century. Since the mid-19th century, the technique has been used to make paperweights, beads, and gaming marbles.