Wide bowls on a high foot were used in Italy in the Renaissance period to serve and display fresh fruit. This purple glass example was made in Venice by the famous glass-blowers on the island of Murano. The decoration in gold leaf and painted enamels was applied after the bowl had been shaped and gradually cooled. After decorating, the bowl went back into the mouth of the furnace, where the enamels would melt and fuse with the glass surface. Once fired, the enamels could not be rubbed off the surface.