Multi-coloured Glass Grape Light– Artiquea’s Best Seller
Notes
Artiquea is also the only retailer in the UK allowing you to choose your own colour scheme and size of both the individual grapes and the overall size of the piece.
Dimensions are all approximate. The hand-crafted nature of the pieces means Artiquea cannot guarantee the exact size of each light, although each piece will only vary slightly.
Electrical fittings are not included in the light, but can be fitted at the customer request. Smaller lights require just one fitting, while the larger ones may require three.
Product History
Glass-blowing has very ancient traditions in Syria. The skills are still alive but the craft is dying as demand fails to keep up with the cost of maintaining furnace temperatures. There is only one traditional glass-making workshop left in Damascus: it is a family business in which knowledge has passed down over several generations.
Glass bottles are collected from all over the city and separated according to colour; after being smashed and washed, the fragments are melted down. In order to conserve purity, no more than one colour can be worked at the same time. The artisans labour around the clock as the furnace is never allowed to die down. They blow grapes and vases, mould spiral discs and bulbous glasses; they can make anything to order. But who knows how long they can continue their fabulous work. The skills are difficult, the glass is delicate and not many people outside Syria know of these wonderful resources.