Although surviving Venetian glass dates only from the Renaissance, early archaeological and documentary evidence shows that glass was produced in Venice as early as the seventh century on the island of Torcello and in the city proper by the tenth century. In 1291, because of fire hazard, the glassworks of Venice were relocated to the island of Murano , where they remain today.
Venetian glassmakers came to rely heavily on Islamic vessel forms and decoration; by 1500 Venice had become the prime source of common and luxury glass for both Europe and the East.
The strong ties Venice established with the East are evident in this sumptuous gilded and enamel-decorated ewer. Its shape imitates Eastern metal prototypes. It is one of a group of ten glass vessels of identical shape but differing decoration. Assembled from four pieces (body, spout, handle, foot), the ewer is characteristically Venetian in concept and execution, but Islamic influences appear in the form of the body and in the band of white flame-patterned enamel on the neck. The shell gilding with red, green, and yellow enamel dots is typical of Venetian luxury glass of this period and was meant to imitate gem-encrusted vessels of gold or silver.
