FROM THE MIDDLE AGES: WINEGLASSES WITH A TALL STEM
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Wineglasses with A Tall Stem
Drinking glasses with a tall stem, which is either hollow or solid, and a gadrooned bowl were popular in Western Europe (west of the Rhine) presumably from the 13th century until the beginning of the 15th century. These glasses are very unusual because of their long thin and fragile stems. Wine glasses like these are not found in any other periods of glass history. The bowl is either quite shallow or tulip shaped(a late variant) it is strengthened by vertical ribs. Fragments of such glasses have been found at various localities in Europe. (below are additional examples)
LIBERATION VASE (1945)
LIBERATION VASE
This is a much different posting then you are used to. The object triggers memories of relative recent times.
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This liberation vase isn’t rare nor expansive but has a lot of value as it triggers lots of stories and memories from those horrendous WW II times. The vase was designed by Andries D. Copier (1901 – 1991) in 1945. The vase was produced in large quantities to celebrate – commemorate our liberation by the Allied Forces in May 1945. By the way, the orange color was discovered by accident or better, by a chance of luck, in 1928. Orange is also the color of our Royal House. We were both born before that awesome WW II broke-out and have quite some memories about the occupation. Some of those are quite vivid like the ones of the so-called the cold famine winter of ’44. We lived in the Western part of the Netherlands. That part was sealed off from food supply and lots more like coal – gas – electricity and transportation. Almost the whole male population from Rotterdam and other cities was rounded up in November ’44 to be transported in cattle cars or worse to Germany to end-up in a kind of slave labor for the Nazi’s replacing the German workforce which was basically completely under arms. We still remember Operation Manna in April ’45 when the Allied bombers dropped food in the hunger-stricken areas. Still have mental pictures of those bombers flying in at low altitudes, dropping foodstuffs. And of course, dear memories of our liberation by the Canadian forces shortly after.
The vase is prominently present in the study. Seen every day. Most of the time we think about those horrendous times and the millions upon millions who perished in that war. Also, about all those allied soldiers who became casualties in the liberation of Europe and all the other areas occupied by Italy and Japan. We pay our respects to all those soldiers who lost their lives or got physical or psychological traumas. A lesson to all of us to prevent the repetition of these atrocities coming from corrupted regimes not valuing freedom. It’s not history that repeats itself. No, it’s the people who over and over repeat themselves.
Note: the weight of these vases can vary all hovering around the 250 grams. Other commemorative wares were also produced in this orange color like the so-called Beatrix vase (then princess, later queen and now princess again). More recently, one to commemorate 75 years of freedom in the Netherlands.
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Our children and grandchildren have copies of the Liberation vase as a memento of the liberation of WW II and the blessing of living in a free society.
English Glass 17th-18th Century in the Allaire Glass Collection
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Click on the title above the pictured objects for additional information on them.
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ENGLISH WRYTHEN ALE GLASSES: THREE EXAMPLES
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Wrythen Jelly, Syllabub or Ale Glass
RIBBED ENGLISH JELLY GLASS
English Glass Tankard
RIBBED ENGLISH JELLY GLASS
ENGLISH LEAD-GLASS JELLY
English Sweetmeat Glass
ENGLISH BALUSTER
ENGLISH PANELED BOWL WITH BLUE RIM
PAIR OF ENGLISH “HOCK” GLASSES 1760
ENGLISH OPAQUE TWIST WINE
English Green Wine Glass
A Pair Of Early English Gin Glasses
Large English Air Twist Wine Glass
English Wine Glass
Amethyst English Pitcher
ENGLISH WINE GLASS WITH INCISED TWIST STEM
GREEN WINEGLASS MADE IN NEW ENGLAND OR ENGLAND
English Green Wine with an Opaque Twist
English Green Opaque Twist Wine
ENGLISH GLASS BOTTLE WITH RASPBERRY PRUNTS
English Facon de Venise Glass Tazza
Crystal Glass Small Spirit Carafe
GLASS OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT (1880 and 1920)
Clutha glass vessels of the Arts & Crafts period in England 1900s
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that began in Britain and flourished in Europe and North America between about 1880 and 1920, emerging in Japan in the 1920s as the Mingei movement. The founders of the Arts & Crafts Movement were some of the first major critics of the Industrial Revolution. Disenchanted with the impersonal, mechanized direction of society in the 19th century, they sought to return to a simpler, more fulfilling way of living. The movement is admired for its use of high-quality materials and for its emphasis on utility in design. The Arts & Crafts emerged in the United Kingdom around 1860, at roughly the same time as the closely related Aesthetic Movement, but the spread of the Arts & Crafts across the Atlantic to the United States in the 1890s, enabled it to last longer – at least into the 1920s. Although the movement did not adopt its common name until 1887, in these two countries the Arts & Crafts existed in many variations, and inspired similar contemporaneous groups of artists and reformers in Europe and North America, including Art Nouveau, the Wiener Werkstatte, the Prairie School, and many others. The faith in the ability of art to reshape society exerted a powerful influence on its many successor movements in all branches of the arts.
The glass objects made by both Arts and Crafts movements in Europe, England and USA had their roots based in nature. Colors of these glass object where more muted and internal surfaces had a misty softness, quite unlike the brilliant finish so important thirty years earlier. However glass vessels were only a very small part of this movement unlike pottery and stain glass for lamps and windows. Part of the above description is from the book Sothebys-Sothebys Concise Encycolopedia of Glass, Editors, David Battie, Simon Cottle, London 1991
Vase, c. 1915–28. No. 248; copper, glass; Roycroft, 1894–1938, East Aurora, New York; Steuben Glass Works, 1903–present, Corning, New York, glassmaker; 5 7/8 x 3 1/2 in.
ARTS AND CRAFTS GLASS AT THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS
ARTS AND CRAFTS GLASS IN
THE ALLAIRE COLLECTION OF GLASS
DUTCH-ENGRAVED BETROTHAL LIGHT-BALUSTER GOBLET
DUTCH-ENGRAVED BETROTHAL LIGHT-BALUSTER GOBLET engraved by Jacob Sang
of the Henk-Martin Goldschmidt collection
sign and dated Amsterdam, 1761
Description:
Colorless glass with a partially polished deep radial wheel engraving. Rising foot base with pontil mark. Slim baluster shaft with pierced air bladders. On the bowl an elaborate scroll cartouche with pairs of billing doves, flowers and diaper-pattern and suspending beaded swags, in the center two couples grouped on a park terrace behind an altar of Hymen with two pairs of flaming tied hearts. The stem has an angular knop above a beaded inverted baluster section with a basal knop. In the nomenclature designed by Smit it is numbered as 1761.3 (ref 1, p 15 – 16) and stemtype A (see also ref 2).
Below an All-seeing eye of God within a radiant triangle: The two pairs standing in front of an anvil on which four hearts are cast and an inscription on the opposite side: HET TWEETAL SUSTERS, DAT SIGH IN DEN EGT VERBIND, / WENS IK DAT IN DIEN STAAT, VEEL HEYL EN ZEEGEN VIND”. [I wish that the two sisters who each are going to get married, may encounter a good deal of happiness and prosperity in that state.] This was the time that in genteel circles wigs were worn as well as high heels. Both men and women were dressed showy with plenty of make-up and cloths with goldthread, buckles and bows. Particularly at formal ceremonies such as weddings, as the engraving on the goblet shows. Signed ”Jacob Sang, inv = et Fec = Amsterdam, 1761,” on the foot by diamond-point engraving.
“Fec” stands for fecit (Latin) meaning that Sang did use a print as a sample for his engraving. “inv” stands for invecit (Latin) meaning that he did change that to his own insight which often meant that he shaped the image around the glass.
Origin: Glass is from England (Newcastle), engraving is from Amsterdam, 1761.
Material: lead glass, H = 19,0 cm.; ø cuppa = 7,4 cm.; ø foot = 8,0 cm.; weight = 222 grams and content = 155 ml so the lightness ratio (volume in ml / weight in gram) = 0.70 while a venetian renaissance glass typically measures a ration of 2 to 3.
Condition: A small chip t0 the footrim was professionally repaired by Maud Schermer (Utrecht, December 2021).
Discussion: An archive search learned that in the year 1761 a total of four alternatives of two couples were engaged and married in Amsterdam based on the original, digitally registrations in the Amsterdam City Archives (ref 3). This search was for two sisters that married at the same date with their spouses. From those four double marriages, the marriage between the two sisters Anthonia and Antje van Havere fitted the best this glass.
Because one marriage was with two brothers, that does not fit the text on the glass. Another marriage concerned that of a widower and large age differences within both couples. And the third marriage involved various religions.
So the marriage of Anthonia and Antje van Havere on June 31st 1761 in the New Church was followed by their engagement on June 15th 1761. Anthonia, 23 years, married with Harmanus Burggraaf, also 23 years. While Antje, 25 years, married Jan Eskens, 25 years. All were Dutch Reformed by religion. Considering the event it seems logical that at least two of the same glasses were engraved by Sang in the same way.
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One of the characteristics of the glass engravings of Jacob Sang is that the eyes look into a certain direction. That adds to the authenticity and liveliness of the image. For example, the two sisters have their eyes lowered while their husbands look straight at the observer and at the other sister. This attitude fits the historical setting well. Furthermore the two couples hold hands and are depicted in such a way the personal features are shown. One could speak of wheel engraved glass portraits. Which is from a technical point of view quite an achievement. The detailing, such as the pleats in the costumes, is also very successful. Sang did portrait here real persons and not allegorical images which can be seen by the clothes they are wearing as opposite to transparent robes. At the same time Sang’s engravings were, compared to his German contemporary colleagues, quite simple and with a lack of proper perspective.
Sang used black paint to emphasize eyes and pearls, however under a microscopic 60fold enlargement no traces of such could be found. The lettering on the glass is also specific for Sang: e.g. the U carries a specific type of apostrophe. A full investigation of the various Sang type letters is on its way.
It is clear that much is still unknown regarding the Jacob Sang glasses and the Sang family history (e.g. ref 4 – 11). The robust work of Frans Smit (1992) can be built on (ref 1). It provides a nice overview that can now be expanded. Furthermore, after the dissertations of Annegret Janda (1962, Leipzig, ref 12) and Anna Laméris (1994, Amsterdam, ref 13) a lot of research has been done and the findings can be added to the existing knowledge. The main areas of research concern the history of the Sang family and, based on the signed glasses, the specific characteristics attributable to Sang and potentially be used to facilitate proper attribution of unsigned glasses. There is a definite need for this because often glasses are attributed to Sang while it is obvious they should be not, by museums, by dealers, by auctionhouses and by collectors.
These unsigned glasses are not yet investigated and inventoried, as did Smit with the signed ones. The general feeling is that Jacob Sang signed approximately 100 glasses over the years at various spots on those glasses with a peak in his production during the years 1759 to 1761. It is assumed that an equal amount of unsigned glasses is present. For a proper assignment a list of Jacob Sang features would help.
Some unsigned glasses can still be attributed to Jacob Sang due to specific features (e.g. ref 14), while others are clearly wrongly assigned to Jacob Sang (e.g. ref 15). However the challenge are those glasses that are in between, so one wants to enlarge the number of Jacob Sang specific features or features that are turn-off’s for such allocation.
Parallel: The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam possess a Sang glass under number 209 that depicts six persons at a table, which shows a similar layout especially with regard to the faces (ref 16).
Conclusions: Although the number of signed glasses by Jacob Sang is considerable and the quality of the displayed engravings excellent, there is little written information on his activities, his workshops, his clientele and his family. Many assumptions are posed but proof lacks. However a scientific approach should and could enable the correct assignment of his unsigned glasses.
Provenance: This glass is from the Guépin collection, Christie’s Amsterdam, 5.7.89, Nr. 124 (ref 17 – 19); Kunsthandel F. Laméris, Amsterdam until 1998, Collection Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann (number H62); auctioned by Christie’s, Amsterdam, 16.4.2002 (ref 20), Dr. Wolf-Horst Röhl collection and acquired at the Fischer auction 2020, lot 81 (ref 21).
Exhibited: Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft, 21 December 1969 – 17 February 1970, no. 117 (ref 22).
Acknowledgement: Albert Six (Amsterdam) has to be thanked for his valuable comments on the manuscript.
References:
1. F.G.A.M. Smit, A concise catalogue of eighteenth-century wine-glasses wheel-engraved and signed by Jacob Sang, Peterborough, 1992, S. 15-16, Nr. 1761.3
2. Ward Lloyd, A Wine-Lover’s Glasses – The A.C. Hubbard Jr. Collection, Somerset 2000, S. 38ff, with an example of a glass engraved by Jacob Sang
3. Amsterdam City Archives, Bart Schuurman, http://www.amsterdam.nl/stadsarchief
4. H.E. van Gelder 1958a 16 (no. 22); Achttiende-eeuwse-glas-snijders in Holland. Oud-Holland 73: 1-17, 90-102, 148-155, 211-219
5. H.E. van Gelder, Glas en Ceramiek, De kunsten van het vuur, Uitgeversmaatschappij de Haan, Utrecht, 1955, p 30 -31
6. R. von Strasser, W. Spiegl, Dekoriertes Glass, Klinkhardt und Biermann, Munchen, 1989, p 96 – 102
7. Das Glass, R. Schmidt, Druck und verlag G Reimer, Berlin, 1912, p 350 – 352
8. Ullstein Gläserbuch, G. Weiss, Verlag Ullstein, Berlin, 1966, p 194
9. A. Laméris, Jacob Sang – Glasschneider in Amsterdam, Der Glassfreind, 2021, nummer 81, p 18 – 26
10. L.F. Fuchs, Jacob Sang: Ein hollandischer Glasschneider deutscher Nation, Weltkunst, 24th edition, august 1954, p 3 – 4
11. E. Pazaurek, Der Glasschneiderfamilie Sang, Der Kunstwanderer 1929 / 1930, p 389 – 394, 430 – 439
12. A. Janda, Masterthesis University of Leipzig entitled “Glass engravings in Thüringer in the 17th and 18th century (in German)”, 1962
13. A. Laméris, Masterthesis University of Amsterdam entitled “Pur sang: A search for features of the style of Jacob Sang based upon his signed glasses (in Dutch)”, 1994, p 30
14. ‘Lady Justice’ goblet, collection A. Six, blindfolded Lady Justice with scales and raised sword, engraved on the foot “IÜSTITIA”
15. ‘The seven Dutch provinces’ goblet, collection H. M. Goldschmidt acquired Im Kinsky, Vienna, 2019, Lot 0520 described as ‘probably studio Jacob Sang’
16. Glass in the Rijksmuseum, Pieter C. Ritsema van Eck, Henrica M. Zijlstra-Zweens, dl. 2, pp. 172-407, cat.nr. 209
17. Anonymous 1959, Journal of Glass Studies 1: 107- 115; 113 (n0. 34)
18. B.R.M. de Neeve 1964, 383, fig 9, Dutch engraved glass in the A.J. Guépin collection. Apollo 80(33): 379-383.
19. The Guépin collection of 17th and 18th century Dutch glass, Christie’s Amsterdam, 1989, lot 124, p 111
20. The Anton C.R. Dreesman collection, Christie’s Amsterdam, 2002, lot 1270, p 266
21. Sammlung Dr. Wolf-Horst Röhl, Barockes Schnittglas, Dr. Fischer Heilbronn, 2020, lot 81, p 178 – 179
22. Een Glasie van Vriendschap, De glazen uit de collectie Guépin, D. Bolten, Museum Het Prinsenhof Delft, 1969, number 117, p 35
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