vintage Italian Murano glass venetian wedding cake earrings

A pretty pair of vintage Murano glass “wedding cake” earrings with a sparkling gold aventurine base, pink glass “flowers” and red glass accents.

A stunning and unique pair perfect for adding to your collection or as a one of a kind gift.

Sourced from an estate in Marseille.  

History

Wedding Cake Beads are correctly known as ‘Fiorato Beads’, and are a very specific subset of Murano glass beads. They combine a selection of highly skilled techniques to create a unique decorative effect. The term ‘Wedding Cake Bead’ seems to date from the early 19th century, and is probably inspired by the highly decorative cakes that were becoming popular at weddings around the same time fiorato beads were beginning to appear outside of Venice.

Firstly the beads are created using the lampwork technique – wrapping the molten glass around a wire. This creates the base layer, solid coloured, bead. Some glassmakers will also use the aventurine technique to create a glitter or sparkle effect in these base beads.

The final layer to be added to the beads are the distinctive decorative flowers. Again these are done using narrow strands of molten glass.

Of course not every glassmaker uses the same methods, or recipes, to create their wedding cake beads, which makes each one a truly one of a kind treasure. 

dimensions: .5"dia