Red and cream handblown murrine glass art vase

This handblown vase has an intricate and three-dimensional pattern of red and cream. This pattern was created was using the ancient Venetian (Muranno) technique of murrine (patterned disks of colored glass). Best known in millefiore glass, the use of murrine allows for infinite possible combinations of color and pattern. 

Murrine are created by fabricating complex canes (one studio-day), assembling short segments of those canes into a patterned bundle (another studio day), and then heating and fusing the bundle together before pulling it out into a rod (another studio day). The rod is then cut or sawed into thin disks (another day). Finally, back in the hot shop, the disks and heated on a ceramic plate and tack-fused together, then rolled up onto a collar or a bubble of clear glass and blown out into an object (yet another day).  This vase is one of a kind and was blown by the artist (David L Smith) with a unique shape and pattern. Because this is hand-blown, there are small bubbles and tool marks present in the piece. These are artifacts of the process and testify to its handmade nature. This vase is a piece of art and is signed and dated by the artist. And it it a practical object as well, suitable for use every day. Hand washing recommended.