Lustrous matter: aventurine glass in Murano and the Chinese Qing Imperial Court (1644–1911)

Aventurine glass is a compelling material for tracing connections among makers, spaces, agents, traders, diplomatic circuits, and the desire for inventive things. First cited as ‘venturina’ in 1626, aventurine glass was crafted by artisans working on the island of Murano. Its distinctive properties – that it glistens in response to the viewer’s movements – made it a prized material for export. In 1700, Jesuit missionaries presented aventurine objects as diplomatic gifts to the Chinese Qing Imperial Court. The Imperial Glass Manufactory successfully emulated the lustrous material in 1741. Following this breakthrough, the Qianlong Emperor issued numerous imperial orders directing Zaobanchu artisans to craft zoological and auspicious objects from the glass. This article addresses the global movement of materials, technologies, and objects, and their active uptake and also the resistance of some cultural forms to easy translation. The case of aventurine attests to how some materials demonstrate a divide in which cultural differences formed artistic processes, experimentations, and ideas. The production and export of Venetian glass to China, coupled with the dissemination of technological knowledge and experimentation with local resources and subjects, offer insights into the potency of new materials and creative thinking in the early modern world.