FACON de VENISE TRICK GOBLET
Facon de Venise Trick Goblet
The goblet has a double-walled bowl on a narrowing stem applied with a pincered collar. The glass has a grayish-lilac tint. It is called a trick glass because inside bowl can be filled with wine through a small hole in the stem; the hole is then plugged with wax. A person could seem to drink all night without the glass becoming empty. Or a person could go up to someone and pretend to spill it and nothing would happen. A similar trick glass is known from the 4th Century of the Roman period.
Dimensions: H = 13.1 cm, Stem H = 7 cm, Weight = 75 g
Origin & Date: Venice or Tuscany, 17th century.
Ref: The Collection Engels-De Lange, Lameris 2015 p. 81 #50, Christie’s March 28, 2000 # 140 & May 2007 #21, Sothby’s June 16, 1984 #73 & Dec. 18, 2002 #6&7, Rijksmuseum, #155, 156, Lameris, 1991 # 111, “Glass from the Ancient World: the Ray Winfield Smith Collection”, Corning 1957, #241
Amazing that it survived this long – as delicate as it appears.