Murano Glass Marks, Signatures and Labels: An Identification Guide

Murano Glass Marks, Signatures and Labels: An Identification Guide

You turn the vase over and look at the base. Is there a signature? A sticker? A faint stamp? It is the first thing everyone checks, and the place where most mistakes are made. Some of the finest Murano glass ever produced carries no mark at all, and some of the worst imitations carry a very convincing label. This guide explains the marks, signatures and labels found on Murano glass, what each one can tell you, and what none of them can prove on its own.

The Four Kinds of Mark

Almost everything you will find on a piece falls into one of four groups:

• The official trademark sticker, Vetro Artistico® Murano, on pieces made since the early 2000s by licensed furnaces.
• Paper and foil labels applied by the furnace or by an exporter.
• Acid stamps: a small, matt inscription etched into the base.
• Engraved signatures, cut by hand with a diamond point or a wheel.

The pontil mark, the scar left where the piece was held on the iron rod, is not a signature. It is evidence of how the piece was made, and it matters as much as any name.

The Vetro Artistico® Murano Trademark

This is the only mark of origin recognised in law. The Veneto Region created it in 1994 and entrusted it to Promovetro, the consortium of Murano producers. The stickers themselves have been in use since 2002.

• 2002 to 2016: a label in blue or red on a white or transparent ground, with the trademark's logo, a glassmaker's tool called a borsella, and a three-digit code that identifies the producer.
• Since 2016: a red label that adds a QR code.

The sticker is made to break into segments if someone tries to peel it off, so it cannot easily be moved to another object. The code can be checked against the official register of licensed producers.

Two limits are worth knowing. The trademark does not exist on anything made before 2002, so it says nothing about vintage glass. And membership is voluntary: there are respected furnaces on the island that have never joined.

Furnace Labels: Paper and Foil

For most of the twentieth century a Murano piece left the furnace with a small label and nothing else. Collectors' references record a great variety. A few examples show the range:

• Barovier & Toso: square dark blue and white paper labels before the First World War; red and white rectangular paper labels between the wars; green and silver circular foil from about 1936 to 1955; red and white rectangular labels with rounded corners from 1956 to 1970.
• Archimede Seguso: circular scalloped red and gold foil export labels reading "Made in Italy" in the 1950s and "Made in Murano, Italy" from the 1950s to the 1980s.
• Aureliano Toso: circular gold foil labels in the 1940s and 1950s, then blue and white rectangular paper labels.
• Alfredo Barbini: blue and silver circular foil labels in the 1950s.
• Cenedese: blue and white paper labels and blue and silver foil labels in the 1950s.
• AVEM: blue and red foil labels.

Alongside these are countless generic labels, such as "Murano Glass" and "Made in Italy", used by small workshops and by exporters. They are the least informative of all, because any label can be removed, lost in the first wash, or put on another object.

Acid Stamps and Engraved Signatures by Maker

From the 1930s the larger houses began to mark the glass itself. An acid stamp is shallow and satin-like, often hard to see until the light strikes it at an angle. An engraved signature is a line of handwriting scratched into the base. The dates below are approximate and come from collectors' references.

• Venini. The best documented. A four-line acid stamp, "Venini Murano Made in Italy", from about 1935 to 1966; a three-line stamp, "Venini Murano Italia", from about 1946 to the mid-1960s; a two-line "Venini Italia" from about 1965 to 1970. Later pieces are engraved, often with the year and sometimes the designer's name.
• Barovier & Toso. A three-line signature from the 1970s onwards; earlier pieces rely on labels.
• Seguso Vetri d'Arte. "Seguso Murano" in the 1950s.
• Archimede Seguso. "A. Seguso Murano" or "Archimede Seguso Murano", engraved.
• Salviati. Designer signatures in the 1960s, "Salviati" from the late 1960s to the 1980s, an acid stamp in the 1990s.
• Cenedese. "Gino Cenedese Murano" or simply "Cenedese".
• AVEM. "A.V.E.M."

Sculptors and independent masters usually engrave their own name on the base, sometimes with a title, a date or an edition number.

Where to Look and How to Read a Mark

• Start with the base. Most marks are on the underside, near the pontil or along the edge of the foot.
• Use raking light. Hold the piece so that light from a window or a torch skims the surface. Acid stamps and fine engraving appear only at an angle.
• Use a loupe. Engraved letters cut decades ago have soft, slightly worn edges. Fresh, sharp, bright cuts on an "old" piece deserve a second look.
• Check the wear. A base that has stood on furniture for fifty years has a ring of fine scratches. A signature that crosses that wear without being touched by it was added later.
• Do not scrub. Wash gently by hand. Old labels dissolve, and they are part of the evidence.

No Mark Does Not Mean Fake

A great deal of genuine Murano glass is unmarked. Labels were made of paper and were never meant to last. Many furnaces did not sign ordinary production at all. A mid-century sommerso vase with a clean base and no label is entirely normal.

In those cases the glass has to speak for itself: the technique, the quality of the colour, the weight, the finish of the pontil, the wear on the base, and where the piece came from. We describe these signs one by one in how to recognise authentic Murano glass.

A Mark Does Not Mean Real

The reverse is also true. Signatures are added to anonymous pieces to raise the price, and labels are copied. Warning signs:

• A stamp or signature that is blurred, too deep or off-centre compared with documented examples.
• A famous name on a piece that does not match that furnace's known designs.
• A brand-new sticker on something described as vintage.
• The words "Murano style" or "Murano type" anywhere on the label or listing.
• A generic "Murano" sticker with no producer's name or code.
• A label that looks right on a piece whose base is moulded, with a seam and no pontil.

The sound approach is the one experts use: never rely on a single sign. A mark is one piece of evidence among several.

What Our Own Pieces Carry

We sell new glass made by furnaces on Murano, among them Fornace Mian, a licensed producer of the Vetro Artistico® Murano trademark, registered under number 101. Each piece comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by us. It records the furnace of origin, the technique and a unique reference number that you can verify online. Where a piece carries the furnace's own mark, the certificate records that too. More on how we document authenticity.

When You Need a Second Opinion

If you have a piece with a mark you cannot read, or no mark at all, we offer a photo-based authenticity opinion for €20. You send photographs of the piece, the base and any label or signature, and within three working days we tell you whether, in our opinion, it is Murano glass and why. It is an opinion, not a certificate, and it covers authenticity only: we do not estimate value.

Frequently Asked Questions