MURANO GLASS SAILING BOATS

Venice was a republic that lived entirely by sea for a thousand years, and the sail is still the shape the city thinks in. In glass it becomes something canvas never could be: transparent, curved as though full of wind, and lit from inside whenever the sun finds it.

The sail is the whole difficulty. It must be drawn out by hand into a single sheet, thin enough to glow, held in a convincing curve, and fused to the hull in the few seconds before the glass sets. On our giant boats — over half a metre, with mainsail and spinnaker — that takes a master and an assistant working in silence for most of a day. Very few are made each year.

From twenty-eight centimetres to museum scale, in clear glass or real gold leaf. Every piece arrives with a certificate of authenticity and fully insured worldwide shipping. Place one where the light comes from behind — that is when it stops being an ornament.