This flat bowl made in Murano (Venice Italy) for Rosenthal (Germany) has been made in the "candy stripe" style.

The bowl is an elegant understatement of the Muranese glass makers art.

Many customers do ask us why this bowl and other pieces from the range that we have sold in the past are so expensive. Many also question the style and some have labelled it as unattractive. Beauty of course is in the eyes of the beholder but this type of product is more about history and an understanding of the Muranese method of glassmaking that others are unable to replicate rather than just beauty. The true beauty in this piece is in the difficulty and skill that has gone into its making.

Made in many stages the simplistic candy stripe appearance belies the depth of history skill and time that has gone into making this piece.

Made in three layers the first layer is the outer layer of clear glass blown into a bowl and allowed to harden. The second layer is a layer of white glass inserted into the clear glass bowl and then blown into shape.

The third layer is the hardest to achieve. It is made in several stages. The first involves wrapping a blow  pipe with coloured rods. This is the beginning of the candy stripe effect. With the rods bound against the blow pipe with heat and some rolling these rods are fused together and then formed into a cylindrical shape. The end is closed off and tidied up.

The final layer is now ready to be inserted into the bowl and with the blow pipe it is blown into the inner white layer of the bowl that has already been formed in the first two steps.

If all of this goes without anything breaking or tearing apart then the bowl is ready to be cut at its base. In effect what you see in the final product is just the base of a bowl. The top part is cut off and discarded to reveal the magical candy stripe flat bowl.