Goblet (Roemer)
Not on view
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]
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