Not on display

Plaque

1839-1844 (made)
Artist/Maker
Biemann, Dominik (engraver (inciser))
Place of origin
Frantiskovy Lazne (engraved)

Biemann's work on glass reflects interest in small portraits during the first half of the nineteenth century. Throughout the summer months, he had a business in the fashionable spa town of Franzensbad and relied heavily on the trade of the visiting middle classes, including Joseph Williams Blakesley who visited Europe betwen 1839-1845.

Object details

Categories
ELISE
Glass
Portraits
Object type
Plaque
Materials and techniques
Engraved glass
Glass
Wheel-Engraving
Brief description
Glass portrait plaque, Franzensbad, Bohemia, engraved by Dominik Biemann, 1841-45
Physical description
Roundel of colourless, clear glass with wheel-engraved portrait bust of a man en profil.
Dimensions
  • Maximum diameter: 9.6cm
Styles
19TH CONT
Biedermeier
Marks and inscriptions
'D. Biman F' (Signature)
Translation
D. Biemann, Franzensbad
Gallery label
(1987-2006)
JOSEPH WILLIAMS BLAKESLEY

C.-a-b-1978

'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900'

Biemann belongs to the long and distinguished tradition of Bohemian glass engraving. His portraits on glass, which reflect the general interest in small portraits during that era, are outstanding in the their detail and perceptiveness. He spent his summers at the spa town of Franzenbad, engraving the visitors, and that is where he may have met his sitter, who was a member of the Apostles Club at Cambridge, a friend of Monckton Milnes and Alfred Tennyson.

Bought with the assistance of Christies's auction house and the N.A.C.F.
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support
Object history
Bought with the assistance of Christies's auction house and the N.A.C.F
Production
According to Paul von Lichtenberg, Munich (letter 17.8.1998 in Obj.Info file) Blakesley (6-3-1808 - 18-4-1885) visited Franzensbad in 1839, 1840 and 1841. On stylistic grounds, Von Lichtenberg suggests 1839 as date. Later he added that the F (not P) in the signature stands for Franzensbad.
Summary
Biemann's work on glass reflects interest in small portraits during the first half of the nineteenth century. Throughout the summer months, he had a business in the fashionable spa town of Franzensbad and relied heavily on the trade of the visiting middle classes, including Joseph Williams Blakesley who visited Europe betwen 1839-1845.
Bibliographic references
  • Dominik Biemann's Dealings with the Dealer Steigerwald in Frankfurt am Main', F. Biemann, Journal of Glass Studies, New York, vol.X, 1968 'Gläser der Empire und Biedermeierzeit', G.E.Pazaurek, Leipzig, 1923 'Der Erste Glasschneider der Biedermeierzeit', G.E. Pazaurek, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, Leipzig, 1921 'Dominik Biemann', Z.Pesatová, Journal of Glass Studies, New York, vol.VII, 1965. Paul von Lichtenberg, "Glasgravuren des Biedermeier: Dominik Biemann und Zeitgenossen", (Exhibition catalogue: Graz/Dresden/Dusseldorf, 2004)
  • von Lichtenberg, Paul. The Biedermeier glass engraver Dominik Biemann (1800-1857). The Glass Circle Journal Vol.10 pp.77-89
Other number
9372 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
C.5-1978

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O5369/plaque-biemann-dominik/
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