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

ROEMER TYPE WINE AND BEER GLASSES

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.

SPRINKLER FLASKS FROM THE ROMAN PERIOD

Roman Sprinkler Flasks

The sprinkler is a unique type of flask in which there is a very small opening at the base of the neck to allow the contents of the vessel to emerge drop by drop. These flasks were popular during the 3^rd & 4^th Centuries and supposedly held perfume, oils and other costly liquids.  Roman glassmakers used a wide variety of decorations on the sprinklers such as mold blown designs, applied threads as well as pinching & tooling.

01R Green two handled sprinkler 3-4th C

Aqua Sprinkler with Ribbing, H: 7.5 cm, Fourth Century Allaire Collection

Mold-Blown Lattice Sprinkler, H: 10 cm, 3-4th C

47R Sprinkler Flask in shape of a pomegranate 3-4th C Allaire collection

Pattern blown Roman sprinkler from Hans van Rossum 4th C

Roman sprinkler with fins from Joop van der Groen 3-4th C

Four handled Roman sprinkler from A Private Dutch Collector 4th C

ROMAN SIMPULUM

ROMAN SIMPULUM of  Hans van Rossum

Second half of 1st century – early 2nd century AD | Israel, found in Samaria

Size↑11.5 cm | ø 7.2 cm | Weight 56 g

Technique: Free blown, foot applied; tooled

Description: Transparent green glass, heavy and hollow outward folded rim, body set on a base-ring. The end of the handle made in the form of a snake-head. (Cobra) No pontil scar.

Condition:Some cracks in lower part of the body, professionally consolidated by Restaura – Haelen (NL) 2010. An overall good condition.

Remarks: A simpulum was used by a priest to ladle the wine out of a barrel into the patera or phiale and to pour wine over the head of a sacrificial animal before the augur examined the entrails for signs. It also belonged to the four attributes depicting on the backside of coins of Roman emperors, together with the lituus (R), the oinochoe (M) and the aspergillum (sprinkler). Most of the simpula were made of bronze or silver. Important production of silver examples in the area of Pompeii. A glass simpulum is rare.

Simpulum depicted on the backside of coins of Roman emperors

Provenance: Jerusalem art market 2008

Published: Romeins Glas uit particulier bezit, J. van der Groen & H. van Rossum 2011, p. 133

Exhibited: Thermenmuseum Heerlen (NL), Romeins Glas, geleend uit particulier bezit, no. 269 29 April – 28 August 2011

Reference: Magiche Trasparenze, I vetri dell’antica Albingaunum, B. Massabò no. 76 for an identical example Vetri antichi di raccolte concordiesi e polesane, A. Larese & E. Zerbinatti, no. 15 p.  I Vetri Romani di Ercolano, L.A.S. Höricht, Tav. XXVII nos. 2342, 2345 and 2347 Rimsko steklo Slovenije, the Roman Glass of Slovenia, I. Lazar p. 23 C

GIANT DOUBLE-BODIED ROMAN BALSAMARIUM

GIANT DOUBLE-BODIED BALSAMARIUM of Nico F. Bijnsdorp

5th – 6th century AD. Eastern Mediterranean, Syro-Palestinian area.

H total = 38.0 cm. H body = 12.8 cm. W max = 11.5 cm. Weight 378 gr.

 

Classification: Stern 2001: Class VI C 2.

Condition: Body with trail intact. Superstructure with few stress cracks and repaired breaks. Some overall surface wear, iridescence and incrustation.

Technique: Free blown and tooled. Handles and thread applied.

Description: Transparent natural bluish green glass. Body with double tube with hollow infolded rims. Solid flattened base without pontil mark. A thread of the same glass wound spirally around the body from bottom to rim in approximately 14 revolutions. On each side of body a coil handle applied 4 cm below the rim and attached with an angle to the rim edge. On top of the tubes an elaborate handle in 6 tiers. The first tier an m-shaped coil with additional reversed L-shaped coil at each side. The second tier with double looped coil applied from the right to the left. The third tier with triple looped coil applied from the left to the right. The fourth tier a single looped coil applied from the right to the left. The fifth tier a single looped coil applied from the left to the right. The top tier a basket handle applied from the right to the left. Excess glass from all coils drawn out thin and folded down on the coil below.

Remarks: This balsamarium belongs to the largest and most elaborate cosmetic tubes of its kind. Most probably it has never served as such since its complex superstructure makes it unusable for that purpose. A function to show craftsmanship and to display it as such is more likely. Balsamaria (also called kohl tube) were manufactured from the late third century until the seventh century AD. They functioned as container for black eye paint (kohl), which served both cosmetic and medicinal purposes, the latter by protecting the eyes against the sun and against insects. Balsamaria were made with one, two, three and four compartments. They were not designed for free standing and consequently needed handles for suspension. Through the ages Balsamaria became taller and heavier with more trails and coils and complicated superstructures.

Provenance: Private collection. Kando Gallery Jerusalem, 1982.

Published: Bonhams 7 July 2016, No. 66.,Christies 14 April 2011, No. 186.Christies 12 December 2002, No. 422.

References: Stern 2001, Ernesto Wolf Collection, Nos. 181-182. Christies 6 July 2016, Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, Nos. 293-296. Christies 22 April 2013, Saeed Motamed Collection, No. 20. Christies 28 April 2009, Plesch Collection, No.19.

WHAT ARE GLASS CANES ?

Wonderful Glass Canes

Glass canes have been used to make many different types of glass objects from the beginnings of glass making to the present day.  A cane is a hollow or solid thin rod of glass which can be clear and colorless, multi colored and opaque or mixtures of all of these. To make a cane a blob of molten glass attached to a pontil is stretched or drawn out to the desired thinness. These drawn rods can be twenty feet or more in length. The cold canes are then cut into the required lengths or thin slices depending on what is being made. There are as many different types of canes and procedures as there are objects made with them.  Glass canes are used to make millefiori, mosaic, air twist, opaque white or colored twist stems, and the Venetian filigrana glassware.

Additional information:

This is a link to a video made by Corning Museum of Glass on how canes are made and used.

For additional reading I highly  recommend one of the best books on the subject of cane making and Filigrana glass by Kitty Lameris,

“A Collection of Filigrana Glass, Kitty Lameris, Amsterdam, 2012″

The following examples of glassware made with canes are from the Allaire Collection and Museum collections.

Ribbon Glass Cup with parallel rows of canes including: opaque colored, colorless and network canes. Called a ribbon-mosaic pattern. The Corning Museum of Glass

Millefiori Mosaic Glass Bowl The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Millefiori Mosaic Glass Bowl at The Corning Museum of Glass

107E Venetian vase using filigrana a retortoli canes. Allaire Collection

97E A&B a pair of English wines using opaque twist canes. Allaire Collection

92E Facon de Venise bowl 19th C. with opaque white canes. Allaire Collection

83E Opaque Twist Norwegian wine C. 1770-1785 with twisted white cane. Allaire Collection

69E Facon de Venise Arbarello with Lid using opaque white canes. Allaire Collection

44E Large loop handle with finial on Spanish glass cantir 2nd half of 16th to early 17th Century with opaque white canes. Allaire Collection

36E Opaque white twist stem, English wine 1765 with two types of filigrana a retortoli canes. Allaire Collection

Close-up of previous pitcher, with possibly a single style of filigrana a retortoli cane. The Corning Museum of Glass

ISLAMIC GLASS

Islamic Glass

Glass in the Islamic World: In the seventh century a new religion, Islam, arose in the Middle East out of the Arabian Peninsula. The founder of Islam, the prophet Muhammad died in 632.  Only a century later, his followers, called Muslims, had conquered a vast empire that extended from Central Asia in the east to Spain in the west.  At this time glassmaking was a flourishing industry in Egypt and the Middle East and many other areas that came under Islamic rule. Glass coming out of these areas from the seventh century onward is considered Islamic glass up to the Modern Era.  The early period, seventh to tenth century, especially shows a great deal of Roman influence in its shapes and decorative techniques. Islamic glassmakers also in this period went on to develop new forms and types of ornament while reviving or rediscovering ancient techniques and adding one new technique: staining.  Islamic glass can be divided into different periods:  Early Glass seventh to tenth century, Early Medieval Glass eleventh to mid-thirteenth century, Late Medieval Glass mid-thirteenth to fifteenth century, Late Glass sixteenth to nineteenth century.  The glass in the Islamic World is richly colored and decorated with rhythmically repeated patterns of geometric shapes, plants, animals, human, and quotations from the Koran. For further read on this subject: Islamic Glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Marilyn Jenkins, Fall 1982 and Islamic Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass Volume One, David Whitehouse 2010. The examples that follow are from The Corning Museum of Glass, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Allaire Collection. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

 

ROMAN SIMPULUM

ROMAN SIMPULUM of  Hans van Rossum

Second half of 1st century – early 2nd century AD | Israel, found in Samaria

Size↑11.5 cm | ø 7.2 cm | Weight 56 g

Technique: Free blown, foot applied; tooled

Description: Transparent green glass, heavy and hollow outward folded rim, body set on a base-ring. The end of the handle made in the form of a snake-head. (Cobra) No pontil scar.

Condition:Some cracks in lower part of the body, professionally consolidated by Restaura – Haelen (NL) 2010. An overall good condition.

Remarks: A simpulum was used by a priest to ladle the wine out of a barrel into the patera or phiale and to pour wine over the head of a sacrificial animal before the augur examined the entrails for signs. It also belonged to the four attributes depicting on the backside of coins of Roman emperors, together with the lituus (R), the oinochoe (M) and the aspergillum (sprinkler). Most of the simpula were made of bronze or silver. Important production of silver examples in the area of Pompeii. A glass simpulum is rare.

Simpulum depicted on the backside of coins of Roman emperors

Provenance: Jerusalem art market 2008

Published: Romeins Glas uit particulier bezit, J. van der Groen & H. van Rossum 2011, p. 133

Exhibited: Thermenmuseum Heerlen (NL), Romeins Glas, geleend uit particulier bezit, no. 269 29 April – 28 August 2011

Reference: Magiche Trasparenze, I vetri dell’antica Albingaunum, B. Massabò no. 76 for an identical example Vetri antichi di raccolte concordiesi e polesane, A. Larese & E. Zerbinatti, no. 15 p.  I Vetri Romani di Ercolano, L.A.S. Höricht, Tav. XXVII nos. 2342, 2345 and 2347 Rimsko steklo Slovenije, the Roman Glass of Slovenia, I. Lazar p. 23 C

SPANISH GLASS 16th and 17th CENTURIES

SPANISH GLASS

Here we feature glassware made in Spain, made in the 16^th and 17^th centuries in many glassworks throughout the country.  These were principally in Catalonia, Castile, Andalucía and the Royal Factory at La Granja De San Ildefonso.  Spanish glass from these areas shows Moorish influence and later that of Venice, and to a limited extent Bohemia, but local styles were developed making it quite unique. The examples shown here are from The Metropolitan Art Museum and the Allaire Collection. In addition to the Met’s collection there is another fine collection of Spanish glass in New York City at The Hispanic Society of America.

Allaire Collection 21E

Allaire Collection 26E

Allaire Collection 27E

Allaire Collection 28E

Allaire Collection 44E

Allaire Collection 62E

Allaire Collection 69E

Allaire Collection 71E

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Museum

The Metropolitan Art Munseum

The Metropolitan Art Munseum

The Metropolitan Art Munseum

The Metropolitan Art Munseum

ROMAN PYXIS WITH LID

LIDDED PYXIS of  Hans van Rossum

 

Mid-late 1st century AD | Eastern Mediterranean, probably Syria

Size↑9.5 cm (↑lid 5.6 cm ↑pyxis 6.2 cm) | ø 5.5 cm | Weight 38 g

 

Technique: Free blown, tooled

Description: Transparent yellow-brown glass for the pyxis and translucent amber for the lid. Small cylindrical container with a gently domed mouth with wide rounded opening, cut-out hollow tubular flange at the junction with the body and the base, base slightly indented, base ring folded outward. No pontil mark. Tall hollow lid with cut-out hollow flange at the midpoint. The upper part domed.

Condition: The lid is intact, the body of the pyxis with some small hairline cracks; nice silvery iridescence

Provenance: Malter Galleries Inc, Encino, CA. USA, auction 13 February 2011, lot 207 Collection Venice Beach USA formed between 1960s – 1970s, thence by descent

Reference: Fascinating Fragility, a Private Collection of Ancient Glass, N.F. Bijnsdorp, nos. NFB 096 & NFB 111 Verres Antiques et de l’Islam, Ancienne Collection de Monsieur D. (Jean Hubert Demeulenaere) no. 161 Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum, S. H. Auth, no. 145, inv. no. 50.1526a & b Glass from the Ancient World, The Ray Winfield Smith Collection cat. no. 64 (in opaque light blue)

MOLD-BLOWN SIDONIAN JUG

Mold-blown Sidonian Jug of  Hans van Rossum

                              First half of 1st century AD | Eastern Mediterranean, Sidon

                             Size↑9.6 cm | ø 4.6 cm (body) | Weight 28 g

 

Technique: Mold-blown, neck and rim free blown; handle applied

Classification:  Stern 1995 M(old) (Construction) (Types) MCT I. Morin-Jean 1913, type handle β²

Description: Thin transparent purple glass. Rim folded outward, upward and inward. Neck tapers downward. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a cylindrical body. On the flat underside of the base, one broad raised circle around central dimple. Cobalt blue strap handle looped twice at the rim to form a thumb-rest. Body blown into a three-part (?) mold of two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section. Neck free blown. On the shoulder, a frieze of twenty-four fine ribs with thickened lower ends. Body mold-blown in relief with two bands of ivy garlands. Around the bottom, a frieze of twenty-eight fine ribs with thickened upper ends. No pontil mark.

Condition: Intact, perfect condition

Remarks:  For a description of this type see: Stern 1995 pp. 167 – 169.”The large number of mold-blown glass vessels produced according to the fashions of the first century AD makes it possible to isolate groups of vessels on the basis of common features. These vessels were presumably produced in workshops operating in the vicinity of Ennion’s establishment. Nevertheless, Ennion stood out among the          other artists in terms of both the quality of his work and its quantity. It is possible to group together additional families of vessels, produced in other workshops, on the basis of shared motifs, and occasionally, technical features.”(Y. Israeli 2011)

Provenance: Collection C. A. Hessing, Laren (NL) 1998, formed in the 1990s, collection number 80 Collection Sheldon Lewis Breitbart USA, prior to 1990

Published: Glass Circle News, Issue 133, Vol. 36 no. 3, 2013, Antiek Glas, de Kunst van het Vuur, R. van Beek no. 104, Magazine Origin (NL) no. 6, January – February 1997, Bonhams London, auction 4 July 1996 lot 292, Sotheby’s New York 20 June 1990, The Breitbart Collection of Antiquities lot 97

Exhibited: Allard Pierson Museum Amsterdam (NL), de Kunst van het Vuur, no. 104 17 May – 16 September 2001

Reference : The Benzian Collection of Ancient and Islamic Glass, Sotheby’s London 7 July 1994 lot 79 for a similar example, Gläser der Antike, Sammlung Oppenländer, A. von Saldern no. 441 Roman Mold-blown Glass, the Toledo Museum of Art, E.M. Stern nos. 76 – 78