Mug
1680-1690 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Small globular mugs with ribbed necks of this form were made in the last quarter of the 17th century exclusively for drinking strong ale. The V&A collections include a similar example, datable to about 1676-7 and marked with the raven's head seal of the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft (1632-1681).
Design & Designing
The form of this small ale mug was not so much designed as inherited from its larger imported German brown stoneware predecessors. Just as drinking glasses had lost most of their Venetian influence by 1700, so these little German-derived globular mugs disappeared at the same time, to be replaced by the typically English 'dwarf ale', a small trumpet-shaped glass which, apart from its distinctive short stem, could be confused with a jelly glass.
Small globular mugs with ribbed necks of this form were made in the last quarter of the 17th century exclusively for drinking strong ale. The V&A collections include a similar example, datable to about 1676-7 and marked with the raven's head seal of the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft (1632-1681).
Design & Designing
The form of this small ale mug was not so much designed as inherited from its larger imported German brown stoneware predecessors. Just as drinking glasses had lost most of their Venetian influence by 1700, so these little German-derived globular mugs disappeared at the same time, to be replaced by the typically English 'dwarf ale', a small trumpet-shaped glass which, apart from its distinctive short stem, could be confused with a jelly glass.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Glass, with mould-blown ribbed base and white glass trailing |
| Brief description | Mug of glass, London,1680-1690. |
| Physical description | Glass mug with mould blown ribbing at the base and white and blue trailed decoration at the rim, with applied glass handle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
LEAD-GLASS DRINKING VESSELS By the 1680s lead glass was common and cheap enough to provide souvenir toys, such as the tiny glass celebrating the Frost Fair on the River Thames in London. At the same time it was grand enough for the giant ceremonial goblets that were passed around a company of drinkers. The jelly and sweetmeat glasses, dwarf ale glasses and globular mugs for strong ale were typical of the wider range of table glass that was produced from the late 17th century. 'State Glasses & Covers' were listed in the Hampton Court inventory as late as 1736. Such grand goblets were sometimes used as chalices for communion.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Formerly part of the Barry Richards collection. |
| Summary | Object Type Small globular mugs with ribbed necks of this form were made in the last quarter of the 17th century exclusively for drinking strong ale. The V&A collections include a similar example, datable to about 1676-7 and marked with the raven's head seal of the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft (1632-1681). Design & Designing The form of this small ale mug was not so much designed as inherited from its larger imported German brown stoneware predecessors. Just as drinking glasses had lost most of their Venetian influence by 1700, so these little German-derived globular mugs disappeared at the same time, to be replaced by the typically English 'dwarf ale', a small trumpet-shaped glass which, apart from its distinctive short stem, could be confused with a jelly glass. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.168-1993 |
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| Record created | December 13, 1997 |
| Record URL |
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