Bacchus

Glass blowing is the art of creating an object from molten glass by blowing air into a utilizing tube. The glass in the oven takes days to melt (the oven is never turned off). The artisan collects molten glass on the tip of his blow rod, being careful to accumulate just the right about for the piece to be blown.

Once the shape of the glass has been achieved, the glass is cooled. It is then sent onto etching stations where the grape pattern is cut by hand into the glass. Different craftsmen cut the different pieces of the etching: one person etches the grapes, another the vine , and yet another the leaves. When the glass etching is complete, the glass is polished and sent to the painting station. Here the etchings are painted by hand, using natural luster and real gold. Once the piece is in its final shape, it is fired one more time to ensure long-lasting strength, durability, and color.