Murrine

Murrina (common pluralization murrine) is an Italian term for colored patterns or images made in a glass cane (long rods of glass) that are revealed when cut in cross-sections. Murrine can be made in infinite designs—some styles are more familiar, such as millefiori. Artists working in glass design murrine in a variety of ways from simple circular or square patterns to complex detailed designs to even portraits of people. Murrine are designed by layering different colors of molten glass around a core, then heating and stretching it into a rod. When cool, the rod is sliced into cross-sections of desired thickness with each slice possessing the same pattern in cross-section.

The murrina process first appeared in the Middle East more than 4,000 years ago and was revived by Venetian glassmakers on Murano in the early 16th century.^[1]

Example of murrina in scarlet, cream, daffodil and vermilion glass, divided by zanfirico cane.
An example of simple murrina in various opaque colors.
Murrine example David Patchen.jpg

An example of multi-layered murrina on the outside of a vessel.
An example of transparent murrina incorporated into a vessel.
An example of complex multi-layered murrina in a sculpture.
An example of a mix of different murrine incorporated into blown glass.
An example of a mix of different murrina patterns incorporated into blown glass.
Example of picking up a murrina pattern onto a blowpipe while blowing glass.