Tazza thumbnail 1
Tazza thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Glass, Room 131

Tazza

1550-1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This type of shallow glass on a tall stem is called a tazza. It was primarily intended as a drinking glass for red wine. However, it required practice and the utmost care to drink from such a glass without spilling, and being able to do so was probably a sign of great sophistication. Tazze (plural of tazza) were most likely used for special occasions only, which explains why, despite their obvious fragility, a disproportional high number has survived the perils of time.
Tazze could also be used for serving 'sweetmeats'. These were the different sorts of sugared and spiced fruits, conserves, biscuits and other confectionery that made up the final 'sweet' course of a banquet.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Blown glass, with applied and tooled decoration
Brief description
Glass tazza, Italy (Venice) or possibly Netherlands, 1550-1600
Physical description
Drinking glass with wide, shallow bowl on a high stem. The base of the bowl is decorated with trailed decoration.
Dimensions
  • Height: 13.5cm
  • Width: 16.0cm
Styles
Object history
Formerly Robinson Collection
Historical context
This type of shallow glass on a tall stem is called a tazza. It was primarily intended as a drinking glass for red wine. However, it required practice and the utmost care to drink from such a glass without spilling, and being able to do so was probably a sign of great sophistication. Tazze (plural of tazza) were most likely used for special occasions only, which explains why, despite their obvious fragility, a disproportional high number has survived the perils of time.
Tazze could also be used for serving 'sweetmeats'. These were the different sorts of sugared and spiced fruits, conserves, biscuits and other confectionery that made up the final 'sweet' course of a banquet.
Summary
This type of shallow glass on a tall stem is called a tazza. It was primarily intended as a drinking glass for red wine. However, it required practice and the utmost care to drink from such a glass without spilling, and being able to do so was probably a sign of great sophistication. Tazze (plural of tazza) were most likely used for special occasions only, which explains why, despite their obvious fragility, a disproportional high number has survived the perils of time.
Tazze could also be used for serving 'sweetmeats'. These were the different sorts of sugared and spiced fruits, conserves, biscuits and other confectionery that made up the final 'sweet' course of a banquet.
Bibliographic references
  • Liefkes, R., Glass, London (V&A) 1997, pp. 50-53, fig. 58.
  • Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, London: V&A Publishing, 2006.
Other number
7836 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Accession number
188-1879

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
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