box

Object NameCovered Box of Lithyalin Glass

MakerProbably Workshop of Friedrich Egermann (Bohemian, 1777-1864)

Made FromGlass

Dateabout 1830

TechniqueFree-blown, overlaid, cut, gilded

SizeOverall H: 9.2 cm

Accession Number60.3.58

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

Northern Bohemia, Nový Bor/Haida, Friedrich Egermann, about 1830-1840. Two inventions led to the popularity of Steinglas, glass imitating the opaque surface of stones, in Bohemia and Austria. First, in 1816, Georg F. A. Longueval (1781-1851), count of Buquoy, invented a dense opaque black and red glass at the glasshouse on his estate in southern Bohemia. This Hyalith glass (from the Greek hyalos, "glass", and lithos, "stone") was often decorated with gilding. The second invention, Lithyalin glass (the name is derived from the same two Greek words), was that of the chemist Friedrich Egermann (1777-1864), who worked in northern Bohemia. He created opaque glasses in a new range of rich colors. Lithyalin, which was produced in many decorative styles from 1828 to 1840, was a polished, marbled glass that imitated the appearance of semiprecious stones. Egermann's work was copied by other Bohemian companies.

Place Made

Bohemia, Novy Bor (Haida)

Physical DescriptionOpaque-translucent sealing wax, red and marbleized green thick glass (Lithyalinglas); free- blown, overlaid, cut and gilded. Cylindrical paneled body (a) with flat base and ground center, recessed lip; cylindrical, disc-like flat cover (b) with concave center at top; clear glass base has been flashed with red sealing wax then covered with greenish glass with a marbleized effect; cut into panels and ground; edges and panels on the cover and body have been gilded, creating on cover top a sun motif with a circle around a gilded dot at the center; where the green overlay is thinner on cover top the color changes to blue.
Provenance

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