Goblet
1575-1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Venetian glasses with decorative elaborately pincered 'wings' on their stems were intended partly for display; those with plain stems were probably intended solely for use. This drinking vessel is an example of a range made for export to Northern Europe. Their fairly basic forms were intended to cut production costs and also to appeal to a more austere taste.
Design & Designing
The fundamental parts of a wine glass - bowl, stem and foot - were traditionally made as separate pieces. They all offer some scope for decoration, although the foot is almost always plain. Here, the rim of the bowl is elegantly thin and the bottom of the bowl is reinforced by mould-blown ribbing. The stem was blown into a mould to produce a bulbous but stylish knop (swelling) imitating metalwork. A restrained trail of blue glass suggests that more luxurious glasses were being made in the same glasshouse.
Trading
Glass in its natural state is green from impurities. While the process of de-colourising it to create 'crystal' remained a secret outside the glassmaking centres of Venice and Altare, near Savona, Liguria, huge quantities of cristallo drinking glasses were exported to England and elsewhere. Only after Italian makers took their craft skills to The Netherlands and England were these countries able to satisfy their own demands for luxury glass.
Venetian glasses with decorative elaborately pincered 'wings' on their stems were intended partly for display; those with plain stems were probably intended solely for use. This drinking vessel is an example of a range made for export to Northern Europe. Their fairly basic forms were intended to cut production costs and also to appeal to a more austere taste.
Design & Designing
The fundamental parts of a wine glass - bowl, stem and foot - were traditionally made as separate pieces. They all offer some scope for decoration, although the foot is almost always plain. Here, the rim of the bowl is elegantly thin and the bottom of the bowl is reinforced by mould-blown ribbing. The stem was blown into a mould to produce a bulbous but stylish knop (swelling) imitating metalwork. A restrained trail of blue glass suggests that more luxurious glasses were being made in the same glasshouse.
Trading
Glass in its natural state is green from impurities. While the process of de-colourising it to create 'crystal' remained a secret outside the glassmaking centres of Venice and Altare, near Savona, Liguria, huge quantities of cristallo drinking glasses were exported to England and elsewhere. Only after Italian makers took their craft skills to The Netherlands and England were these countries able to satisfy their own demands for luxury glass.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Glass, with moulded and tooled ribbing, and mould-blown stem |
| Brief description | Glass goblet, Italy (possibly Venice), 1550-1650 |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
VENETIAN AND LONDON-MADE SODA GLASS Throughout the 17th century the demand for clear glass was satisfied partly by home-produced articles and partly by regular imports from Venice. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the wealthy Duke of Buckingham received a patent to make 'Venice Christall'. One of his glasshouses at Greenwich produced thin soda-glass vessels, while another at Vauxhall produced mirror plates. Few of his products, which were significantly cheaper than Venetian glass, have survived.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Soulages Collection |
| Object history | Probably made in Venice, Italy |
| Summary | Object Type Venetian glasses with decorative elaborately pincered 'wings' on their stems were intended partly for display; those with plain stems were probably intended solely for use. This drinking vessel is an example of a range made for export to Northern Europe. Their fairly basic forms were intended to cut production costs and also to appeal to a more austere taste. Design & Designing The fundamental parts of a wine glass - bowl, stem and foot - were traditionally made as separate pieces. They all offer some scope for decoration, although the foot is almost always plain. Here, the rim of the bowl is elegantly thin and the bottom of the bowl is reinforced by mould-blown ribbing. The stem was blown into a mould to produce a bulbous but stylish knop (swelling) imitating metalwork. A restrained trail of blue glass suggests that more luxurious glasses were being made in the same glasshouse. Trading Glass in its natural state is green from impurities. While the process of de-colourising it to create 'crystal' remained a secret outside the glassmaking centres of Venice and Altare, near Savona, Liguria, huge quantities of cristallo drinking glasses were exported to England and elsewhere. Only after Italian makers took their craft skills to The Netherlands and England were these countries able to satisfy their own demands for luxury glass. |
| Other number | 8505 - Glass gallery number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 5543-1859 |
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| Record created | December 13, 1997 |
| Record URL |
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