MILLEFIORI MURANO GLASS ANIMALS

Millefiori means "a thousand flowers", and the name is literal. Rods of coloured glass are built up in concentric layers, drawn out into long canes, then sliced crosswise — and every single slice reveals a flower hidden in the cross-section. Hundreds of those slices, the murrine, are fused together and shaped at the flame into an animal small enough to hold in a closed hand.

It is the oldest decorative technique on the island, and it has never been mechanised. Each animal is composed by hand, one murrina at a time, which is why no two are ever patterned the same way.

Twenty-two creatures, from a seven-centimetre owl to a fifteen-centimetre giraffe — the easiest way to begin a Murano collection, and the one gift nobody already owns. Every piece arrives with a certificate of authenticity and fully insured worldwide shipping. See also our larger animal sculptures.