Drinking Glass thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

Drinking Glass

1700-1710 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
By about 1700 the perfected English 'baluster' glass had arrived. These plain glasses, strongly constructed and made from lustrous lead glass, could be adapted to almost any size, from small 'dram' glasses to huge ceremonial goblets with covers.

Materials & Making
Glassmakers found that English lead glass, perfected by George Ravenscroft (1632-1681) in the 1670s, was slow to cool and therefore difficult to manipulate into fancy shapes. No frills or ornament of any sort were added to this glass.

Time
The development of lead glass in the late 17th century finally broke the British dependence on imports from Venice. The new heavy material suited British taste so completely that by 1700 the influence from George Ravenscroft's London-based Italian glass workers had disappeared. Instead, a limited range of finely proportioned glasses and decanters were made in London, where the glass industry was then centred. It was to be some years before immigrant German glass cutters began to extend their craft from mirrors to drinking glasses.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Lead glass, with baluster stem
Brief description
Drinking glass, England, 1690-1710
Physical description
Foot: folded; Stem: baluster; Knop: ball; Bowl: round funnel
Dimensions
  • Height: 17.2cm
  • Diameter: 8.5cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 11/01/1999 by sp/nh
Style
Gallery label
British Galleries: LEAD GLASS
By the end of the 17th century, imports from Venice had ceased and many English glasshouses were making a range of sturdy table glass in the perfected lead glass. Although the qualities of this new glass were fully appreciated, it was to be some time before the technique of glass cutting was applied with spectacular success to table glass and light fittings.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Francis Buckley, Esq.
Object history
Probably made in London
Summary
Object Type
By about 1700 the perfected English 'baluster' glass had arrived. These plain glasses, strongly constructed and made from lustrous lead glass, could be adapted to almost any size, from small 'dram' glasses to huge ceremonial goblets with covers.

Materials & Making
Glassmakers found that English lead glass, perfected by George Ravenscroft (1632-1681) in the 1670s, was slow to cool and therefore difficult to manipulate into fancy shapes. No frills or ornament of any sort were added to this glass.

Time
The development of lead glass in the late 17th century finally broke the British dependence on imports from Venice. The new heavy material suited British taste so completely that by 1700 the influence from George Ravenscroft's London-based Italian glass workers had disappeared. Instead, a limited range of finely proportioned glasses and decanters were made in London, where the glass industry was then centred. It was to be some years before immigrant German glass cutters began to extend their craft from mirrors to drinking glasses.
Bibliographic reference
F Buckley, English Baluster-stemmed Glass of the 17th and 18th Century (1912) fig.7.
Collection
Accession number
C.233-1912

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
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