Goblet (Roemer)

Unknown

1608 · Glass, cold-painted, gilded · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The challenging size of this drinking beaker reveals the work of a master glassblower. It displays the medium’s admired qualities of transparency, malleability of shape, and capacity for surface decoration—here, delicate gold and probably oil-resin-painting. The Venetian-style glass shown nearby was sought after by princely collectors for display in their curiosity cabinets; this piece is more typical of the local Germanic glassmaking tradition. The northern European form—with a broad, hollow stem covered with relief dots, called prunts—prevented slippage as it was passed from one greasy-handed diner to another in a communal toast. [Elizabeth Cleland, 2017]

Artist

Unknown

Date

1608

Medium

Glass, cold-painted, gilded

Culture

German, Rhineland

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Munsey Fund, 1927