millefiori

Millefiori, from the Italian for “thousand flowers,” is a glassworking and decorative technique that produces patterns by layering colored glass into long canes, fusing them, and slicing cross-sections to reveal intricate floral or geometric motifs. The technique has ancient roots and was revived in Renaissance Italy, especially in Murano, where glassmakers developed the practice of creating millefiori canes that could be cut into segments and applied to beads, vessels, and mosaics. The term is also used for similar patterns produced in polymer clay and other materials, but the name originates in glass.

The process involves assembling a millefiori cane by fusing multiple colored glass rods side by side into a single log, sometimes arranging a repeating motif. The log is then drawn out into a long cylinder, cooled and reheated to make a cane, and slices are prepared from its cross-section. These slices are either embedded in a base piece or fused onto a surface and fired in a kiln to fuse the pattern.

In practice, millefiori patterns range from simple geometric forms to complex floral designs that resemble tiny flowers. In jewelry and art glass, millefiori beads became highly prized for their intricate, multicolor pattern. In modern craft, the technique is also adapted to polymer clay and other materials, where pre-made canes are sliced and used in beadwork and decorative surfaces.