A museum in the Hakone region of Japan, (a few hours from Tokyo) houses some of the most interesting Venetian crystal ornamentation and lighting. The Venetian Glass Museum or the Hakone Glass Forest, as it’s called, is a great way to see crystal and Murano glass in all its splendor, because, unlike a typical museum, a portion of the displays begin outside where entryway trees are festooned in Murano crystal; some clear, others in beautiful rich colors. These crystal filled trees line the museum’s courtyard.

The museum itself contains some very exquisite Murano glass chandeliers dating back to the 18th century. Period piece rooms are filled with ornate crystal chandeliers – a different kind of visual experience for the Murano glass lover, a Venetian style of production that dates back hundreds of years.

Murano glass dates back to the 13th century when glassmakers in Venice were banned to the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon. Some of this was based on safety to ensure the hot fires needed to make glass would not burn down Venice but another reason was to keep the knowledge of the craft secret and specific to the area. Glassmakers of Murano (at the time) were actually forbidden to share their trade secrets with foreigners nor were they allowed to leave the island, an offense punishable by death. Venetian glassmakers were the leaders in glassmaking throughout the middle ages, right up until the 19th and 20th century when they were finally upstaged by the Bohemian and English glassmakers.

Murano glass is still renowned throughout the world. Glassmakers on Murano work much the same way they did hundreds of years ago but now it’s possible to find much more affordable Murano reproductions.