ANCIENT GLASS FROM HAMILTON COLLEGE

Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton.

The Burgess Collection of ancient glass provides a comprehensive survey of ancient glassmaking from the 6^th century B, C. to the 13^th century A.D. The strengths of the collection are blown glass from the later Roman period, including a large number of utilitarian wares as well as beautifully decorated luxury vessels. Catalog of show: Ancient Glass, The Hamilton College Collection, Carole Allaire, Clinton N.Y 1988

The pictures below are examples their ancient glass collection.

Amphoriskos Eastern Mediterranean 6th-5th century BC

Hexagonal Jug 6th century

Bowl with ring base 1st-4th century

Two-handled jar Eastern Medtiterranean 4th-5th century

Wide-bottom Flask 3rd century

Jar with Zig-zag Trails 4-5th century or later

Goblet 4th-5th century

Cylindrical Bottle 2nd-4th century

Double Balsamarium Eastern Mediterranean 4-5th century

Trefoil-mouth Pitcher 4th century

Double Balsamarium 4-5th century

Footed Beaker possibly 4th century

Petcher with Coil Base Syro-Palestinian 4th-5th century

Jar with contrasting handles 4th century

Aubergine Long-neck 4th-5th century

Bowl Roman 3th-4th century

A GROUP OF MEROVINGIAN TRAILED BEAKERS

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THE MEROVINGIAN TRAILED BEAKERS

Wallonie-Les Verres Merovingiens, Tresors de Wallonie, Musee Ourthe-Ambleve, Comblain-au-Pont, 1993 page 39

 

This type of Merovingian beaker was made in a bell shape or with straighter sides ( see the drawings below).  At the top there is a splayed lip and the body sits on a small circular pad base. Some have a stubby stem between the body and pad base.  Most have a self trailing at the top below the lip with some also having trails in the middle and on the bottom.  They range in size between 6-10 cm, and are dated 5-6th Century.

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Below are examples from various museums and the Allaire Collection click on the picture to enlarge and use the back arrow to come back to this page.

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The Musee d Archeologie Nationale in St Germain

The Musee d Archeologie Nationale in St Germain

The Musee d Archeologie Nationale in St Germain

The Musee d Archeologie Nationale in St Germain

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden

116E from Allaire Collection

54E from Allaire Collection

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Wallonie-Les Verres Merovingiens, Tresors de Wallonie, Musee Ourthe-Ambleve, Comblain-au-Pont, 1993 page 151

ANTIQUE TRICK OR DECEPTIVE GLASSES

Practical jokes are tricks played on someone in order to make them look foolish and to amuse others and have been around for as long as history. It is not surprising to find them in glass containers. They are called trick, joke, puzzle jug, siphon glass, innkeeper, bartender, toastmaster, or deceptive glasses.  Below are three examples of this type.  Click on the description above the picture to get more interesting  information on these object.  Then use the back arrow to come back to the post.

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FACON de VENISE TRICK GOBLET of the Allaire Collection

 

89E Facon de Venise trick glass C. 1650

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A VENETIAN TOASTMASTER’S OR DECEPTIVE GLASS WITH SPIKED GADROONS of Elisabeth & Theo Zandbergen

#130 A Venetian toastmaster’s or deceptive glass with spiked gadroons

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ENGLISH INNKEEPER’S WINE GLASS of the Allaire Collection

 

 

CAST AND CUT BOWLS FROM 500BC-400BC

CAST AND CUT BOWLS FROM 500BC-400BC

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Dating: The production of these glass bowls, colorless or pale green to olive green are attributed to the period of the Achaemenid dynasty in Persia (559-330 BC).

Description: The forms of the glass bowls are copied from the Achaemenid silver and bronze shapes. They feature either embossed fluting, rosettes of pointed leaves or lobed designs on both deep and shallow bowls with flaring rims.  The shallower bowls are called phiales.

Technique: The technique of manufacture was possibly the lost-wax casting method using the finest quality glass available. Many of these bowls show signs of being cut on the exterior and also polished on both surfaces.

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The following bowl drawings are from, Early Ancient Glass, Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, David Grose

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Achaemenid Bowls

Metal Prototypes

 

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Achaemenid Glass Bowls

 

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HELLENISTIC CAST, SLUMPED, CUT GLASS BOWL of David Giles

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Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers

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Getty Villa, side view –

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Getty Villa, bottom view

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The State Hermitage Museum

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Phiale Bowls: Metal Prototypes

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Phiale Glass Bowls

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Toledo Museum of Art

 

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Corning Museum of Glass

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RHODIAN CAST MONOCHROME BOWL of  Nico F. Bijnsdorp

Rhodian cast monochrome bowl 4-3rd B.C. Nico F. Bijnsdorp

Rhodian cast monochrome bowl

AMERICAN GLASS CATHEDRAL PICKLE JAR

(10A) Cathedral Styled Glass Pickle Jar of the Allaire Collection

Size: H: 11 ½ inches Date: 1845-1870

 

Description: This is a large then normal mold-blown jar in the gothic revival style with no pontil mark.  The jar has a wonderful cathedral decoration and a nice deep aqua green color.

Remarks: In the United States from about 1830 to 1860, design elements found in the Gothic cathedrals of Northern Europe—especially pointed arched windows with ornamental stonework—were adapted for use in the country house architecture and furnishings.  The popularity of the Gothic Revival style extended to the design of humble wares, among them this pickle jar. With Gothic-style arches on each side, the jar is evidence of the interest of people in a high style of the period.

Possibly manufacturer: Bulltown Glass Works or Crowleytown Glass Works both were in southern New Jersey,

Ref: Spillman II # 79, Ketchum 1975 p. 140 & 145 and 1985 p. 79, The Art Institute of Chicago # 1850/70, American Art gallery 227 (pictured below)

 

Size: 11 ½ inches Date: 1850/70

 

ROEMER TYPE WINE AND BEER GLASS FROM THE 16TH CENTURY TO PRESENT

ROEMER TYPE WINE AND BEER GLASSES

Roemers in the Allaire Collection

Roemers (Dutch) or Römer (German) are a type of wine and beer glass that evolved in the Rhineland and the Netherlands from the 17^th Century.  They have their roots in the Waldglas particularly the Berkemeyer, Krautstrunk and Nuppenbecher of the later Middle Ages which were produced in northern Germany, the Low Countries and central Europe.  The Roemer style glass is still being produced today.

The forerunners of the Roemer were made in the 15^th C as short beakers with an inverted conical shape bowl attached to an open stem decorated with pulled drops or prunts.  These are called Berkemeyers. Over time the glass on these vessels became thinner and the bowls developed into a hemispherical shape on a wider hollow base decorated with pulled or flatten prunts.  In the early 16^th C this truly became an early Roemer when a foot was added formed by a trailed thread wound round a conical core.

The following examples are all from the Allaire Collection and are arranged more or less in chronological order. Things to look for in these examples are: bowl shapes, stems open or solid, prunts pulled, flatten or raspberry, engraving, and finally the type of foot. Below these pictures there are additional notes taken from Henkes-Glass Without Gloss, Utility glass from five Centuries excavated in the low countries 1300-1800. Harold E. Henkes, 1994 on factors on how to determent the age of a roemer.

57E Victorian Enamelled Roemer 1890-1910 H 11cm

59E Large Dutch Roemer 17th Century H 16.5cm

58E Tall Dark Green Roemer Late 17th Century H 15.8cm

09E Engraved Roemer Second half of the 18th Century H 13cm

08E Engraved Roemer Late 17th Century H 13cm

05E Engraved Roemer Late 18th Century H 12.7 cm

31E Roemer Late 17th Century H 15.5cm

18E Shallow Roemer 2nd Half of 17th Century H 9cm

45E Colorles Roemer C. 1700-1720 H 16cm

50E Roemer with Spherical Prunts C. 1650-1675 H 12cm

56E Early Roemer 16th Century H 10cm

40E Early Roemer 16th Century H 9cm

12E Berkmeyer 2nd Half of 16th Century H 9cm

13E Krautstrunk C. 1490-1500 H 9.5 cm

Notes from Henkes book

* Roemers which have a convex bowl came into use before 1600.

* Until shortly before 1650 both berkemeyers and roemers retained pointed prunts.

* Raspberry prunts had been made prior to 1600.

* With few exceptions berkemeyers retained pointed prunts.

* Pincered notch foot rings used for all types disappeared before the mid 17th C (1650) being replaced by fused coil thread.

* Roemers with an egg-shaped bowl and coil foot became popular by 1600-1650.

Merovingian or Frankish necklace with beads of glass pasta and amethyst

From The Windmill Collection of Roman Glass

Date: End 6th – mid 7^th Century AD Sizes: Necklace  ↑ max. 2.0 cm   │   → 25.0 cm, Amulet     ↑ 2.0 cm              │   Ø  3.5 cm

Provenance: Rhineland (Germany)

Description: The necklace has 38 beads, with an amulet at the bottom. The small round bronze pieces are earrings. Processed are, among other things, five amethyst beads in various designs and a large number of cylindrical and ring-shaped specimens of glass pasta in various colors and decorations. Also some so-called double and (bi-) conical ones. Most beads are opaque, a few (half) translucent. Beads often have traces (reliefs, stripes, threads, markings, etc.) that provide information about the technical manufacture. The Merovingians generally made use of two methods, namely that of the so-called stretched glass and the rolled up glass. In the first method, a mass of glass is collected at the end of a metal rod (pontil), blown or pressed with a rod, after which it is obtained by the second rod a tube is realized. Now in the desired diameter. With the drawn beads, the glass tubes are cut into beads, sometimes rounded off in the fire. Many beads have a specific shape such as biconical, cylindrical, conical, cubical, prismatic and the like. Some are rolled out on a stone or metal plate or formed with the help of tools. Cold processing was also done by polishing. In contrast to rolled-out specimens, wound beads have a wide variety of decorations.

 

Condition: Intact, incl. a few bronze pieces and an amulet with bone.

Remarks: This type of necklace was found in graves for several centuries. In Belgium, Germany but often also in the Netherlands as can be seen in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden where, among other things, numerous specimens are kept from rich burial fields such as the Donderberg in Rhenen (NL). Glass production centers were scarce at the time. Up to now only one workshop has been found in the Netherlands where glass was made in the early Middle Ages, namely Maastricht (Jodenstraat), there are indications of possible production in Dorestad and Leidse Rijn. In Belgium this is the case in Huy, as well as in the Cologne region in Germany.

The Frankish women wore one of several cords around it, sometimes a small one as a bracelet. Furthermore, a sort of linen tunic with a long dress over it (with fibulae on the shoulders). A fibula or coat pin is a historical utility and decorative item that served as a closing item for various items of clothing. The object, usually made of metal, has a two-part locking mechanism in the form of a pin, a pin hole. You can consider it as the precursor of our button (or zip). Around the waist the woman wore a leather belt working with all kinds of things such as keys, amulets, bag or a knife. The belt went through the bracket from the right, made those things (via a small extra strap) hung on the left leg.

Numerous scientists have made an effort to classify Merovingian or Frankish glass beads: Koch (1977), Sass and Theune (1996), Matthes (1998), Siegmund (1998) and Pion (2013). The discussion about this is complicated and does not seem to have crystallized yet.

Amulets are objects, generally worn close to the body, that protect the person (2014 A.Willemsen). But you can also protect things with amulets, such as a personal sword with men. The beads of this necklace are strung again after the find, the amulet hangs with an extra bead at the bottom near a number of amethyst beads. However, it has not always been in its current location. The original was probably either attached to the tunic or hung on the belt (as described above), possibly even around the neck. The bronze amulet has a pierced leg decoration, probably the tooth of a bear, wolf or wild boar. Important because of the supposed protective and evil-repelling (apotropic) force. Because the ferocious animal had to be killed first to be able to carry part of it. The power of the animal thus passed to the wearer of the tooth.

Incidentally, it cannot be excluded that this particular bronze with bone may not be an amulet, but was part of an earring (comment 2018 Prof. Frans Theuws, Professor of Medieval Archeology at Leiden University)

Reference: Ernesto Wolf  (2001) nr. 222

 

Pictures by Aad van den Born

THE FASHION OF HANDLES ON ROMAN GLASS

The Fashion of Handles

The ancient glass makers of the Rome Empire generally didn’t pay much attention to the handles fashioned on their vessels.  Many of the handles look like they were put on by apprentices and not the masters who made the vessel’s body.  Of course there are many exceptions to this observation. In later centuries as fashions changed the handle became as important as the shape of the vessel.  Below are a few of the many types of handles found on glass objects.  Examples are taken from the Allaire Glass Collection.

01A Hollow handle on American honey comb pattern pitcher.

56R Late Roman jug with ribbed handle and tall thumb rest 4th-5th C

48A American Small strap handled trailed Mug Late 18th Century

27R Roman glass skyphos with two handles and thumb rests 1st Century

102E Basket Handle with shell finial. Small French Holy Water Cruet 17th C

88E English Amethyst pitcher

75E Double handle with pincered decoration. Salviati cup 19th C

61A Amber pitcher with lionhead medallion below handle.

58R Roman coil neck pitcher 4th Century

44E Large loop handle with finial on Spanish glass cantir 2nd half of 16th to early 17th Century

31R Handle is ribbed and looped at rim on Roman pitcher 1st Century

71E Spanish Footed Bowl with six handles 17th Century

69R Roman Jug with Looped Handle 4th C

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020

Historic Village in Allaire State Park

 

James Peter Allaire: 1785-1858, U.S. engineer and business man, of French Huguenot descent. Owner of a New York brass foundry, he leased Robert Fulton’s New Jersey engine shop on 1815 and transferred its business to area around South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan, New York City in 1816. Here he set up the city’s first steam-engine plant, where the first compound marine engines in the world were built. As his business grew and production increased, so did Allaire’s need for raw materials which, in his case, was primarily iron. At the time, the United Kingdom was the largest manufacturer and exporter of iron in the world, but, as a result of the war of 1812, high ad velum tariffs had been placed on the British commodity. This led him to purchase the Howell Works Property In 1822 a small forge on the upper fringes of the New Jersey Pine Barrens now in Monmouth County. Over the next few years, Allaire would make many improvements to the furnace complex site to produce iron for his New York foundry, repairing existing buildings and constructing new ones. The isolation of the site also forced him to consider the development of a self-sufficient community, one that would eventually include a blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, bakery and grist mill, a boarding house, larger homes for workers and their families, mills and factories, a school and church and a general store. It is today the Historic Village in Allaire State Park a non-profit, living history museum set in 1836. additional information

Below are pictures from Historic Village in Allaire State Park:

EGYPT FRUIT-SHAPED GLASS BEADS

FRUIT-SHAPED GLASS BEADS of Hans van Rossum

Date: 18th Dynasty, ca. 1348-1332 BCE | Egypt – Tell El – Amarna  Size: ↑ 23.4 & 23.1 mm| Weight 12 g

 

Technique: Pressed into a mold, tooled

Condition: Intact

Description: Opaque white glass for the body and emerald green glass for the leaf.  Shape of the fruit probably in the form of an Egyptian mulberry.

 

Remarks: These early glass fruit-shaped pendants from Tell el Amarna are exceedingly rare.

Provenance: Ex collection Jacob Levy, Tel Aviv

Published: Archaeological Center Tel Aviv, auction 67, 17 October lot 408

Reference: No parallels could be found

Attention: Can somebody tell me more about these very early glass-items?

Please let me know: hrossum@gmail.com I will be very happy with it.