In the latter half of the nineteenth century the revolutionary design concepts style swept across Europe and the United States. Artists everywhere abandoned the Victorian revival movements in favor of the new style. Even in tradition-bound Venice a startling and dramatic new style of glass began to be produced. Fabulous monsters, especially winged dragons, materialized on the luxurious glassware that had captivated the world for centuries. Beautifully crafted, these beasties were destined to embellish Venice's art glass for the better part of three decades. Although never classified as such before, this body of work can now be regarded as the idiosyncratic Venetian contribution to the art nouveau style.