Venetian marbled paper by Alberto Varese, one the few true Venetian artisans still working in the city. Paper marbling first appeared in Japan in early 12th century as Suminagashi, and appeared soon after in China. In the 13th century, marbling appeared in Afghanistan and was practiced widely in Persia and Turkey, imported from the far East via the Silk Road trade route. In the 15th and 16th centuries, paper marbling came to Italy, France and Germany, where craftsmen developed the technique further.