Avem Glass - Avem stands for Arte Vetraria Muranese. The factory is most well-known for its "tutti-frutti" designs
Aventurine - Copper or other metal oxides suspended between a clear outer layer and colored inner casing of glass
Bolo - A Murano word referring to the first lump of molten glass, just after removal from the melting pot, before work on it begins
Bottom Wear - Normal, expected wear on the seat of the glass form. Bottom wear often helps indicate the age of an item and does not detract from it's value
Cased Glass - Two or more layers of contrasting glass fused together, creating a single piece, with the inner layer sometimes blown into the outer layer
Chip - Visible piece of the glass has been broken off the form. If the chip is small enough, it could be repaired by sanding and polishing, but a seamless repair is difficult. Chips found on decanter's "stopper" neck are extremely common and more or less accepted. Rim chips may require qrinding which could reduce the size of the vessel, the same applies to bases. A visible chip negatively affects the value of a form
End of Day Glass - Produced (often by apprentices) by combining all left over glass fragments (literally, whatever was left at the 'end of day')
Fire Polishing – Technique in which glass is reheated to smooth mold seams without distorting the pattern on a mold blown or pressed glass piece
Gold Leaf - A very thin form of gold foil
Lamp work - Any glass-working technique done with the direct flame of a torch; work with pre-formed glass rods and tubes
Latticino – Italian term that refers to a technique developed by the Romans and used in Murano glassmaking in which spiraled threads of white or colored glass are embedded into a piece of clear crystal
Maestro - Maestro (master) is a fairly recent word for the person in charge of a team of artistic glassmakers, who is responsible for the running of the Piazza (the glass production area)
Maker's Miss - An error on or in the glass form caused by the maker
Millifiore - Meaning “thousand flowers” in Italian and also called tile work; a technique in which glass rods are cut into discs and placed into a mold to form a decorative pattern, then re-fired to fuse the pieces together
Molten Glass - A Murano word referring to the first lump of molten glass, just after removal from the melting pot, before work on it begins
Pontil Mark - Refers to the place on the base of a glass object where it is attached to the punty rod or pontil while the blower is shaping and finishing the piece, and then snapped off and polished smooth
Scorpion Mark - The mark left behind on the glass when the rod is removed
Silver Leaf - A very thin form of silver foil
Sommerso - Coloured threads or designs which are then submerged ("sommerso") in a layer of transparent or coloured glass to create a layered effect
Stampo (Mould) - A mould used to make the feet of the more recent clowns (usually wooden or iron)
Straw Mark - Slight lines left after cooling. Often an indicator of age. Very common on Depression glass and are also found on some more modern hand blown forms. They are the result of the maker's cooling method
Stress Crack/Thermal shock - Glass breakage caused by rapid or uneven heating or cooling
Unintentional Inclusion - Unintentional foreign object(s) in the glass. An unintentional inclusion (aka a "maker's miss") can be a trapped air bubble, a speck of coloured glass, unmelted raw material, a burst bubble on the surface, etc.
