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.