Nuppenbecher

As mentioned in the text to exhibit Nuppenbecher, European medieval glassware was mostly described as relatively primitive in the literature until the mid-20th century and even beyond. This assessment was based on insufficient knowledge of the material. A completely new view was established by the exhibition Phoenix of Sand and Ashes shown in 1988 at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn and the Historisches Museum Basel. The exhibition convincingly demonstrated that, contrary to previous assumptions, medieval glassworks sometimes produced pieces that met the highest standards. Indeed, it would have been astonishing if, alongside the exceptional artistic achievements of skilled artisans during this period in the most diverse fields – not least the magnificent stained glass windows in cathedrals – glass vessels in particular had been the only genre to remain more primitive. The three prunted beakers (Nuppenbecher) and the tall beaker (Stangenglas) shown here bear witness to the high quality of medieval glass vessels. They were made for everyday use, yet three of them miraculously survived five hundred years and more undamaged.

It can be proved that this prunted beaker was once used to store relics: on the inside, under a magnifying glass and with targeted lighting, fine textures created by the textiles in which the relics were wrapped can be detected. These traces exist because the glass was walled into an altar niche for a very long time – probably several centuries – and never moved.

This prunted beaker is a special case in several respects. Nuppenbecher from the 13th century and partly also from the first half of the 14th century, for example from southern Germany and Switzerland, consist mainly of colourless glass, and the walls are decorated with a large number of small prunts. In the course of the 14th century, a light blue-green colour gradually became the norm, and the prunts became slightly larger. In the 15th century, the enlargement of the prunts continued and the predominant glass colour became a more intense green.

The glass shown here seems to be outside the usual development. It is particularly small and differs formally from the colourless pieces of the 13th century and even early 14th century by its slightly bulbous shape and the short, almost vertical lip. It is possible that in a certain glassworks or region, production with colourless glass was continued in the second half of the 14th or at the beginning of the 15th century, while formally adapting to newer trends.