Goblet

Like exhibit Footed Beaker with cover and Sweetmeat Dish this is a piece where the experience gained in cutting and grinding gemstone vessels – for example from rock crystal – during the 16th century, was transferred to the processing of glass vessels. This applies above all to the possibility of incorporating fine motifs into surfaces by means of intaglio engraving or relief carving. While in the 17th century the leading glass cutters worked in Nuremberg, around 1700 the primacy went to Bohemia and then to Silesia.
This goblet, probably made in Bohemia or Saxony, is presented here for two reasons: on the one hand, because the technique of the decoration differs greatly from that of the two Silesian glasses in the same display case, and on the other hand, because its story shows the role coincidences can play in the transmission of artefacts.

The two Silesian pieces are decorated with a combination of cutting and engraving: The fine motifs were cut into the glass surface with small rotating metal wheels and left mainly matt, while the mostly geometric surfaces were carved with larger discs and then polished. A completely different impression is created by the goblet shown here, in which all the worked surfaces were deliberately given a polished finish. This means that the entire decor visually adapts to the structure of the untreated surface, which creates a uniformity of the appearance.

The goblet probably originated in the 2nd quarter of the 18th century, so it is now between 250 and 300 years old. This means that it has survived ten to twelve generations. If you think about how easily glasses break during use, how many are disposed of when they are no longer in fashion or are destroyed by natural disaster or wars, it is amazing that glass still exists undamaged. In addition to this, there is the special circumstance that the cup – probably a long time ago – came from Europe to Argentina; it was acquired there by a Swiss-Argentinean dual citizen in Buenos Aires in an estate sale, brought to Switzerland, recognized here at an antique market by an expert and subsequently offered to the Vitromusée Romont.