Filigree bowl

This chalice, with reticello decoration (a network of geometrical shapes) in filigree, probably comes from Venice.
During the Renaissance, the Venetians developed their famous cristallo glass. This new aesthetic style was used in tableware: elegant, gracious shapes, filigree and millefiori, extremely fine glass... Venetian glass-making established itself as the incarnation of luxury: its shapes, its patterns and the technical prowess of its production were imitated all over Europe. Glass-blowers working in the Venetian style opened workshops in Antwerp and Liège in the second half of the 16th century and in Brussels from 1623.