A Millefiori Plate

 

This small glass plate is on display in the National Museum of Damascus. Provenance and dimensions are not provided. The plate was manufactured using the ancient technique called millefiori, which was practiced with great skill in the Eastern Mediterranean—particularly in the coastal regions of Asia Minor—until the beginning of the Islamic period. The term "millefiori" is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods with multicolored patterns, which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. The rod is heated in a furnace and pulled until thin while still maintaining the cross section's design. It is then cut into beads or discs after cooling.

Catalogue du Musée National de Damas. publication de la Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées. Damas 1969.