During the 16th and 17th centuries, the quality of Venetian glassware gave rise to the appearance of imitations, pieces that were said to have been made à la façon de Venise. These objects were produced all over Europe: from Nuremberg to Antwerp, and from the south of Holland to Spain.

Although these imitation pieces were composed of different materials, which varied from region to region and resulted in quite distinct colourings and intrinsic properties, they retained the appearance that was particular to the Venetian models, characterised by their geometrical motifs of opaque white lines embedded inside the glass, as well as their milk or granulated glass.