BELL BEAKER
NFB 404 BELL BEAKER From Nico F. Bijnsdorp
Date/Origin/Dimensions/Weight
Late 6th century AD. Western Roman Empire, probably Gaul or Rhineland.
H: 13.2 cm. D rim: 6.7 cm. D lower body: 5.6 cm. Weight: 83 gr.
Classification
Feyeux 1995: Type 52.3.kae.
Harden 1956: Group B, Type V.a.ii.
Condition
Excellent preservation. Many air bubbles and impurities in the glass.
Technique
Body pattern blown. Rim and bottom tooled. Thread and base-knob applied.
Description
Transparent pale green glass. Opaque white thread and base-knob.
Rim rounded and thickened in flame. Concave sides with carination near base. Convex bottom with opaque white base-knob at center. A thin opaque white thread applied and wound spirally around body just below the rim. Mid-section of body decorated with faint vertical ribbing. Traces of a pontil around the base-knob.
Acquired
8 December 2021, Christie’s, London.
Remarks
(1) Although rare, the bell beaker is one of the most common and characteristic drinking vessels of the Merovingian period. In German language it is called Sturzbecher. It was popular for the Franks, who used it by emptying the glass in one draft and then putting it upside down on its rim.
(2) Small rectangular sticker near mouth reading “B” and another one near base reading “0024”.
Provenance
The Wunsch Foundation, New York, USA, 1999.
Christopher Sheppard, London, UK.
Published
Bonhams 21 October 1999, No. 87.
Christie’s 8 June 2012, No. 173.
Christie’s 8 December 2021, No. 133.
References
Stern 2001, The Ernesto Wolf Collection, No. 198.
Loudmer-Kevorkian 1985, Collection de Mr. D., No. 157.
Vanderhoeven 1958, Musée Curtius, No. 77.
Evison 2008, The British Museum, Nos. 53-54.
Hayes 1975, The Royal Ontario Museum, No. 645.
Harden 1956, The Ashmolean Museum, Pl. XVI.k.
Whitehouse 1997, The Corning Museum of Glass, Nos. 180-181.
Ourthe-Amblève 1993, Musée de la Préhistoire en Wallonie, No. 38.
AMPHORISKOS SHAPED LIKE A GRAPE BUNCH
NFB 403 AMPHORISKOS SHAPED LIKE A GRAPE BUNCH
From Nico F. Bijnsdorp
Date/Origin/Dimensions/Weight
2nd century AD. Western Roman Empire, Gaul or Rhineland, probably Cologne.
H: 13.3 cm. W body: 5.8 x 5.0 cm. D rim: 3.2 cm. Weight: 79 gr.
Classification
Isings 1957: Form 91a.
Morin-Jean 1913: Form 131.
Goethert-Polaschek 1977: Form 138.
Condition
Intact. One handle re-attached.
Technique
Body blown into a mold with two vertical sections. Neck and mouth free blown. Handles applied.
Description
Transparent olive-green glass.
Everted rim, rounded in flame and partly folded in. Cylindrical neck slightly widening towards the sloping shoulder. Body mold blown in the form of a naturalistic, trilobed bunch of grapes. Two vestigial, triangle vine leaves, with detailed veins, from shoulder to upper body at front- and backside. Two coil-handles dropped on shoulder, drawn up and attached with a fold to the neck just below the rim. Mold seams visible at the sides of the body and ending under the handles.
Acquired
7 December 2021, Bonhams, London.
Provenance
Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, Doha, Qatar.
Harmakhis Ancient Art, Brussels, Belgium.
Collection Wilma Arpot, Maastricht, Netherlands.
Remarks
(1) Mold blown glass vessels in the form of a grape bunch were produced in both the Eastern and Western part of the Roman Empire, in the Eastern part without, but in the Western part with handles (amphoriskoi). Grape amphoriskoi were mainly produced in Gaul and in the Rhineland, more specifically in Cologne. They are very rare.
(2) Reference is made to NFB 075 for an example without handles from the Eastern Empire.
Published
Bonhams 7 December 2021, No. 101.
References
Goethert-Polaschek 1977, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, No. 1385.
Brouwer 1991, National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, Netherlands, No. 21.
Fremersdorf 1961, Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln, Nos. 143-145.
Welker 1974, Frankfurter Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, No. 20.
Foy 2010, Musée departemental Arles antique, No. 509.
Simon-Hiernard 2000, Musées de Poitiers, Nos. 329-335.
Quiry-en-Vexin, Musée Archéologique departemental de Val d’Oise, No. 45 and p. 125.
OPAQUE BLUE ROMAN GLASS BUD VASE
OPAQUE BLUE GLASS BUD VASE of David Giles
Culture: Roman, Date: 1st century about 25-75 AD, Height:10.8cm
Place of manufacture: Probably Italy. Considered to be from the same workshop as the example in the British Museum.
Decoration: Two horizontal ground raised bands on the upper body and two on the top outer rim
Technique: Historically described as cast and cut but the modern school of thought suggests that these were blown and then ground and polished when cold. The example in the British Museum is described as blown. I am inclined to go with the blown theory. The same shapes are made in transparent glass which are obviously blown but the glass in those cases is thinner. This vessel would have required thicker glass to allow for cutting and so the glass maker may have started with a thick rectangular sheet of glass and picked it up and folded it round on the iron before blowing. This process in itself would explain the need for subsequent grinding and polishing to remove any irregularities or rough exterior from when the sheet was formed, regardless of the cut band decoration. This is the technique used to make the mosaic gold band glass bottles. Whilst the idea of casting this particular form of vessel would seem to be unlikely, nevertheless it would have been a more complicated technique than simple blowing and the skill and work involved would have put these vessels into the luxury category.
Rarity: This is a rare form in cut opaque glass. Only about 8 extant examples are known of in private and public collections Worldwide. They are found in three opaque colors: red, blue and white. Obviously luxury items.
Provenance: Ex collection of Dr. Alexander Gonik, Switzerland 1960’/1970’s.
Reference: Benzian collection Sotheby’s 7 July 1994, two examples in white and red. ,Constable Maxwell collection Sotheby’s June 1979, two example in red., British Rail collection Sotheby’s 24 November 1997 example in red (from the Constable Maxwell collection).
Parallel: British Museum example probably from Italy as pictured below:
British Museum example of a Roman glass bud vase probably from Italy
What happened to the Cinzano Glass collection ?
What happened to the Cinzano Glass collection ?
Article and Post by David Giles
In 1971 Count Alberto Marone Cinzano, of the family that created the famous Cinzano Vermouth, decided to start collecting fine examples of ancient and antique glass. The collection was published first in 1974 and again in 1978 under the title The Cinzano Glass Collection, edited by Peter Lazarus.
In recent times the collection appeared to have gone from public view and I enquired of many glass people what had happened to it. It was suggested that it had been sold and dispersed and in fact in one recent London glass auction catalogue it suggested that a glass had come from that collection. After much searching I was delighted to discover that the collection was still completely intact and with additional glasses added after the 1974/78 publications. What however had happened was that the Marone family sold the Vermouth business in 1992 to an international drinks company which was absorbed in 1997 into the large British company Diageo and the collection of glass was included. So now the collection is known as the Diageo Glass Collection. Diageo actually sold the Cinzano Vermouth label to Campari in 1999 but kept the glass collection. It was published again in 2005 and edited by Rosa Barovier Mentasti under the title Glass Collection Della Diageo a Santa Vittoria d’Alba. The catalogue is now out of print but can still be obtained on second hand books sites.
When the collection was published in 1974/78 there were 125 pieces in the collection but after that the Marone family added more pieces and in the 2015 publication there are 144 pieces featured. The oldest piece in the collection is a wonderful 5th century BC Obsidian lobed bowl. There are twenty ancient vessels of Roman and Frankish origin and two Islamic glasses. Twenty Venetian glasses. Lots of glasses from Holland and Germany and also from England. Each one is illustrated with colour plate and full description in Italian and English.
The collection is now kept at Diageo meeting centre in Villa Storica a Santa Vittoria d’Alba Italy which is between Turin and Genoa, It can be visited by prior arrangement if you Email deborah.fuhrmann@diageo.com.
Readers might also like to look at www.diageomeetingcenter-sv.it/
Enter the site and click on Le Cantine and they will see how cleverly the glass is displayed in cut-out old wine barrels. This collection might be an idea for a future visit of the Glass Circle.
Attached are photos of 8 examples from the collection. This article will be in the next Glass Circle News letter.
Additional read:
The Cinzano Glass Collection
R.J. Charleston, Curatorial Advisor (active link)
HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID GILES: A MASTER OF GLASS
David Giles 1940 – 2022
Comments from fellow glass collectors
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David was a very amiable person, respected worldwide as a great connoisseur of ancient glass. For years he collected Roman and other types of glass and had a very refined taste. He considered himself a temporary treasurer who was happy to share his extensive knowledge with other collectors.
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He was a real friend; kind, intelligent, honest and always interested in the other person. His knowledge of core-formed, Roman and Venetian glass was amazing. A master of glass and I, one of the glass collectors. was his student. We will miss him and his valuable advice. Hans van Rossum
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Will never forget when we met for the first time in person. It was in Brussels during the BAAF where we were in the process of buying a Roman juglet from a German dealer. We couldn’t come to grips on the origin. The object was handed over to a gentleman in the shop who gently assessed the origin. Later, he put his business card on the table with the name David Giles. From then on, we became friends. We also shared our mutual interest in Venetian & Façon de Venise glass showing again David’s extensive knowledge. Always in an amiable way. We will always cherish our friendship and will miss him dearly. Elisabeth & Theo Zandbergen.
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The Augustine Collection would like to express its condolences on the passing of David who has been a sympathetic colleague and advisor to us regarding the description of ancient glass. His knowledge and insights were great, and on many occasions, he was able to convince us to what time and style a piece of glass could be designated. From his collection of books on ancient glass we were able to acquire many a rare specimen. These books will be a help in the further description and remind us of David.
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David Giles Biography
I became fascinated with Ancient Art during many business visits to Mediterranean countries in the 1980’s and 1990’s, when, in my spare time, I took the opportunity to visit many archaeological sites and museums. Out of this grew a special interest in ancient and antique glass, both as a collector and a student of the subject and I became a member of the International Association for the History of Glass and The Glass Circle. I wrote an article for Glass Circle News on collecting ancient glass and I will be pleased to email on request an electronic copy of this article with illustrations. As a collector I have focussed mainly on the period from earliest glass of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians through to Byzantine with some later Medieval and Venetian. Over time I have tended more towards rare and special pieces even if repaired, or sometimes only fragments. I spent many years building up my own library of books on glass. In the process I discovered how difficult it was to find many of the important works, as they are long out of print. As a result, I decided to offer a service to academics, museums and collectors by supplying books on ancient and antique glass and have spent many years building up the stock before launching the service.
Examples from his collection of ancient glass:
To get more information on each of the objects click on the title above the picture.
ROMAN SPLASH GLASS ARYBALLOS
LARGE DOUBLE HEADED MEDUSA FLASK
RARE LENTOID SHAPED CORE FORMED GLASS VESSEL
VENETIAN GLASS PLATE OR PLATTER
VENETIAN FOOTED GLASS BOWL
FOUR CORE-FORMED GLASS VESSELS FROM 4th to 5th century BC
CORE-FORMED AMPHORISKOS (perfume bottle)
A LARGE SHALLOW ROMAN GLASS BOWL
PRUNTED MEDIEVAL GLASS BEAKER
VENETIAN GLASS DISH
EGYPTIAN FLORAL GLASS INLAYS
OPAQUE BLUE ROMAN BUD VASE
HELLENISTIC CAST, SLUMPED, CUT GLASS BOWL
What happened to the Cinzano Glass collection ?
BALUSTER WINE GLASSES
10E on the left is the French baluster
20E on the right is the English baluster
Remarks: The name Baluster describes a type of glass drinking vessel named for its stem. The baluster motif was adopted from Renaissance architecture and was used on glasses from Venice made in the early 17th century. Baluster glasses were first made in England soon after George Ravenscroft introduced leaded glass vessels in 1676. Early examples made from 1685 to 1710, featured an inverted baluster like the ones from Venice. Later glasses with true baluster stems date from the period of 1710 to 1735. Glasses with baluster stems are greatly varied, with different types and arrangement of knops as well as different forms of bowls. Balusters are also made from soda glass as well as leaded glass and come from many different countries. Paraphrased from the An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, Harold Newman, 1977
(also see) NAMING: STEM FORMATIONS A TO Z ON VENETIAN AND FAÇON DE VENISE WINE GLASSES
**STEM FORMATIONS ON ALL TYPES OF DRINKING GLASSES
Renaissance (true) balusters Renaissance inverted balusters
10E French Wine Glass of Allaire Collection
This French wine glass has a bucket bowl, stem with large bladed or angular knop and high folded foot. Made of soda glass. Also called Bourguignon glass.
Height : 13½ cm, Weight: 84.5 g, Date: later part of 18th C,
Reference: Auction house in Paris, France Gros & Delettrez 2006 Lot 175
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20E English Baluster of Allaire Collection
This is a wine glass with bucket bowl on inverted baluster and base knop, with folded foot. Made of lead glass. Baluster Wines are a large group of beautiful and well designed glasses.
Date: 1720, Height: 5 ¼ inches (6,25 cm), Weight: 194 g,
Reference: Eighteenth Century English Drinking Glasses L.M. Bickerton, Suffolk, 1986 # 59, A Collection of Fine Glass From the Restoration to the Regency, C. Sheppard and J. Smith # 25
81E Dutch Baluster Wine Allaire Collection
This is a beautifully shaped baluster wine from the Netherlands made of soda glass. It has a bell bowl with stem of two solid knops and a inverted baluster with tear on a solid base.
Height: 17 cm Date: 1720
Ref: Eighteenth Century English Drinking Glasses L.M. Bickerton, Suffolk, 1986 # 160
ISLAMIC GLASS BOWL WITH OCTAGON STAR
AcoaG # 68 ISLAMIC GLASS BOWL WITH OCTAGON STAR
of
The Augustinus Collection of Ancient Glass
Size: ↑ 3.5 -3.7 cm | Ø Mouth : 10 -10.5 cm | Ø Base facet: 5.8 – 6cm| Weight: 97 g |
Date: 11th-12th century A.D. from Persia
Technique: Mold-blown glass and stained; tooled on the pontil. Painted with a lusterware octagon in gold star and with floral motifs resembling written text in Arabic language. Created by a double vessel method and sealed with a cobalt-blue rim. Pontil is abraded.
Remarks:
1. It is under the Abassid caliphate (750-1258) that Muslim art flourished from Spain to Afghanistan. The Muslim ceramists developed two techniques that gained great attention – first in the Muslim countries and then in Europe through Spain – the earthenware and the metallic luster.
2. The metallic luster is the great innovation of the end of the 8th century. It was considered as an attempt to compensate for the religious prohibitions on the use of gold and silver tableware. This luster was obtained by depositing metallic salts on a fired clay or glass object and annealing it in a reducing atmosphere. This technique made it possible to imitate the metal and it knew such a popularity that it was picked up again by the Hispano-Moorish of the 15th century
3. Venus-Ishtar was a guiding light or orientation point for sailors that transported goods across the Mediterranean sea during many ages. The octagon, created by two squares, gives inspiration to many natural and philosophical thoughts. The eight-pointed star began to appear in Islamic art in the Middle Ages.
Condition: The object is intact. The surface is very slightly weathered. The glass contains one crack leading from the star to the rim. Through time moisture penetrated the double glass vessel deteriorated the painted floral motifs or text slightly.
Provenance: From a private dutch collection, first publication.
Literature: David Whitehouse, Stefano Carboni, Robert Brill and William Gudenrath in:
Glass of the Sultans, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, 2002.
Sasanian and Post-Sasanian Glass, The Corning Museum of Glass, NY, 2005.
ROMAN RIBBED BOWL
RIBBED BOWL of Joop van der Groen
Roman Empire ǀ Late 1st century BC – 1st century AD Size: ↑ 4,2 cm; Ø 13,0 cm ǀ Weight 183 gram
Technique: Sagged, tooled and lathe-cut. Rotary-polished on interior, top and outside of rim. Fire-polished on rest of exterior. The ribs were possibly formed using a fork-like tool to push against the hot surface of the glass, probably when the disk was still flat. Sometimes, it is possible to see groups of three or four
Classification: Isings 1957 form 3c
Description: Translucent lightblue colored glass. Shallow bowl, rounded by grinding, flares up and slightly out from body which bulges, then curves in towards concave bottom. On the exterior fifty-three irregular ribs round the sides, more or less vertical, from 1,5 cm below rim, tapering off towards bottom, most disappearing before center.
Remarks: Almost all ribbed bowls of Isings form 3c have more ribs than this one: ten to twenty. Usually they also have horizontal engraved grooves on the interior, something this bowl doesn’t have.
Condition: Intact
Provenance: 1996 – 2010 P.E. Cuperus, Laren (the Netherlands), 1996 Axel Weber, Köln (Germany)
References: Glasses of Antiquity – Collection Oppenländer (von Saldern, 1975), no.257 Early Ancient Glass – The Toledo Museum of Art, (Grose, 1989), no. 236 en no. 237 Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum – The Eliahu Dobkin Collection and Other Gifts (Israeli, 2003), no. 71, Solid Liquid (Fortuna Fine Arts Ltd New York, 1999), no. 52
ROMAN RIBBED BOWL
RIBBED BOWL of Joop van der Groen
Roman Empire ǀ Late 1st century BC – 1st century AD Size: ↑ 4,2 cm; Ø 13,0 cm ǀ Weight 183 gram
Technique: Sagged, tooled and lathe-cut. Rotary-polished on interior, top and outside of rim. Fire-polished on rest of exterior. The ribs were possibly formed using a fork-like tool to push against the hot surface of the glass, probably when the disk was still flat. Sometimes, it is possible to see groups of three or four
Classification: Isings 1957 form 3c
Description: Translucent lightblue colored glass. Shallow bowl, rounded by grinding, flares up and slightly out from body which bulges, then curves in towards concave bottom. On the exterior fifty-three irregular ribs round the sides, more or less vertical, from 1,5 cm below rim, tapering off towards bottom, most disappearing before center.
Remarks: Almost all ribbed bowls of Isings form 3c have more ribs than this one: ten to twenty. Usually they also have horizontal engraved grooves on the interior, something this bowl doesn’t have.
Condition: Intact
Provenance: 1996 – 2010 P.E. Cuperus, Laren (the Netherlands), 1996 Axel Weber, Köln (Germany)
References: Glasses of Antiquity – Collection Oppenländer (von Saldern, 1975), no.257 Early Ancient Glass – The Toledo Museum of Art, (Grose, 1989), no. 236 en no. 237 Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum – The Eliahu Dobkin Collection and Other Gifts (Israeli, 2003), no. 71, Solid Liquid (Fortuna Fine Arts Ltd New York, 1999), no. 52
Ancient Glass Blog of The Allaire Collection 
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