goblet

Object NameCovered Goblet (filigrana a retortoli)

Made FromGlass

Dateabout 1575-1625

TechniqueBlown, applied (vetro a fili, vetro a retorti), tooled

SizeOverall H: 34.9 cm; (a) Goblet H: 23.7 cm; Rim Diam: 9.2 cm; (a) Foot Diam: 8.5 cm

Accession Number64.3.9

Curatorial Area(s)

Early Modern

Exhibitions

El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III

Beyond Venice: Glass in Venetian Style, 1500-1750

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

Filigree decoration originated at Murano in the 16th century and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. In this covered goblet, twisted canes of white glass encased in colorless glass alternate with plain white canes. These canes were arranged in a rectangular form and fused in the furnace to create a sheet of striped glass. The sheet was picked up on a disk of molten glass attached to the blowpipe, rolled up into a cylinder, and closed at the end to form an elongated bubble. This bubble was then divided into separate sections, from which the foot, knop (a small knob in the stem of a glass vessel), bowl, and matching lid were fashioned. A team of skilled craftsmen collaborated on such vessels, which were made in a great variety of twisted cane and network patterns. Filigree glass remained popular for more than 200 years.

Place Made

Italy, probably Venice

Physical DescriptionCovered Goblet (filigrana a retortoli). Colorless, with grayish tinge (cover with brownish gray tinge); lattimo. Vetro a fili, vetro a retorti; tooled. Tall bowl consisting of eight light bulges that diminish in diameter from top to bottom, with flaring, fire-polished rim; stem composed of depressed blown knop between colorless mereses; blown pedestal foot with infolded edge and pontil mark. Domed, flanged cover repeats formation of goblet, in six bulges that diminish in diameter from bottom to top. Cover is finished with colorless finial consisting of capstan with solid knop. Pontil mark at apex of cover.

Goblet is decorated with vertical bands of lattimo (a fili) alternating with six ply cables (a retorti); lattimo threads on cover are in same formation as those on goblet. Cover does not fit properly, and goblet and cover are slightly different in color.
Provenance

Provenance Remark

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