Glassware Traditions We Love From Around the World—and Their Modern Interpretations

When browsing the local shops on your vacation for souvenirs this year, put down the magnets, set aside the ceramics, and make some room for glass. There are so many different glass traditions that are iconic because of where they’re from that it’s hard to pick which ones to highlight, but we chose four from around the world that have influenced design far outside their origins. From the teahouses of Morocco to the bustling markets of China, there’s glassware for every trip. And if the only travel you’re doing this summer is from the comfort of your backyard, we found some contemporary interpretations of each tradition.

Moroccan Beldi Glass

In Morocco, tea is more than just a drink—it’s a physical representation of hospitality. And often, the refreshing mint tea comes in small cups made of imperfect recycled material known as beldi glass. Traditionally made from things like beer or wine bottles in a process that has been more or less the same since the 1940s, beldi glasses are characterized by their small size and conical shape, as well as color. Although there are many examples of gilded beldi glasses and carafes out there, the traditional grass-green hue is instantly recognizable.

If Marrakech isn’t on your list this year, don’t fret—there are plenty of contemporary interpretations that we think evoke the tradition and won’t require a passport. Kickie Chudikova’s Danube Carafe comes with a matching cup that echoes the shape of traditional beldi glass and would work beautifully on a bedside table. And if you truly want the real deal, Verve Culture’s set, in the fetching green derived from recycled Heineken bottles, is just the ticket.

Murano Glass

Design-loving visitors to Venice always have the city’s most well-known export on their agendas. Venetian glass traditions stretch back as far as the tenth century, concentrated in and around a cluster of small islands known as Murano. Early artisans were relocated there to mitigate the risk of fires spreading from the ovens required to heat the glass. For centuries, Murano makers were prohibited from sharing their secrets with the rest of the world.

Murano glass was originally prized for its clarity, or cristallo—a term describing the type of glass that eradicated the cloudy color of the material in its natural state. But eventually, glassmakers began introducing the saturated, bright hues that we see today. Other characteristics of Murano glass include millefiori, in which rods of glass in varying colors are bonded together, revealing flower-like patterns in the cross-section, and latticinio, which adds opaque glass, traditionally white, to the product, to create intricate patterns.

Traditional Murano is everywhere, but some designers are looking to history to inspire contemporary creations. Resembling a little person standing with their hands on their hips, Kiki Goti’s Irini vase is a humorous visual take on the tradition. And Carl Hansen & Søn’s Bora glass makes Murano modern with a wobbly drinking vessel wearing cheery stripes, so you can remember Venice’s gondoliers wherever you are.

Liuli Glass

Liuli is a Chinese word for decorative glass art (distinct from boli, the Mandarin word that describes more utilitarian items). Glassmaking in China has a long history that dates back to the fifth century BCE, when the practice likely arrived from Mesopotamia. As in other parts of the world, glass in China was reserved primarily for elite members of the ruling class, who collected plates, bowls, snuff boxes, and the like.

After China started allowing foreign imports into the country during the Han Dynasty, glasswork fell to the wayside, only to be revived hundreds of years later. What is now commonly referred to as liuli is made using a time-intensive, finicky process: pâte de verre, or lost-wax casting. With this technique, molten glass is poured into a wax mold, allowing for highly detailed forms. Antique examples of this kind of glasswork abound, but there are contemporary works that evoke this style, like Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s cheeky Giardino Segreto candlesticks, which have a bit of the same whimsy. If you’d prefer something more traditional, look to Liuli, founded in Taiwan in 1987. The company’s amber-hued candleholder is fit for an emperor—or anyone with discerning taste.

Czech Crystal

Glassmaking came to Bohemia (in the western corner of what is now the Czech Republic) via Slavic artisans in the sixth century CE who settled in the area and brought with them a new process. Over time, they discovered that if you combined potash with chalk in the basic glass mixture, the result is clear and stronger than was typical back then. They found that they could decorate the material with intricate cuts, which came to distinguish the style of crystal.

Naturally, the exclusivity of the product—as well as its beauty—made it extremely desirable to European aristocrats, who filled the halls of their palaces with Bohemian stemware, vessels, and chandeliers. Modern interpretations of the tradition are just as lustrous as their ancestors. The finely wrought etching that covers the surface of Lalique’s Caldera vase and the delicate floral design on Moser’s blue-tinted vessel wouldn’t be out of place in the ballroom of a lesser Hapsburg or on the lovely credenza in your living room.

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Top photo of Apricot Ribbed Vase from Ro’Table New York by Nigel Lujan Jones

Products curated by Adrian Madlener

Prop styling by Catherine Campbell Pearson

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