Tankard with lid

This tankard is a typical example of a historicist object from the late 19th century. At that time, a renewal of artisanal craftsmanship was taking place, among other things with the aim of counteracting the mass production that arose with industrialisation. This movement was mainly inspired by objects from earlier centuries, but created works with a strong claim to stylistic independence at a high level of craftsmanship. The present example largely incorporates elements found in 16th century pieces from archaeological excavations. It originates from the Rheinische Glashütte in Cologne-Ehrenfeld and is listed in their “Commodity Price Currents” of 1881 and 1886 among the glasses “in old German style”.

After a turbulent history with several changes of ownership, the glassworks at Ehrenfeld (today a district of Cologne), which was founded in 1865, was renamed “Rheinische Glashütten-Actien-Gesellschaft” in 1872. The main products manufactured there were industrial and pressed glass. Oskar Rauter, the technical and commercial manager at the time, founded an additional “Abtheilung für Kunsterzeugnisse” (Department for Artistic Production) in 1879, after a period of economic difficulty. He visited many arts and crafts museums throughout Europe to study Roman, Venetian and Old German originals and record them in sketchbooks. These documents were used to prepare designs, most of which also contained a portion of reinterpretation. In 1881 and 1886 the “Commodity Price Currents” of the “Abtheilung für Kunst-Erzeugnisse” were published. Both contain drawings and descriptions of the exhibited hump. The glass is described as a “ring-shaped beaker with lid, with 30 grommet prunts and metal rings and pincered foot rim, antique green”, after which it is pointed out that the type is known several times from old German glasses, although these usually have no lids. Oskar Rauter’s sound knowledge of historical materials is confirmed by the fact that this observation still holds true today.