Glassblowing Before its Arrival in Venice

The Medieval Period

Glassblowing Before its Arrival in Venice

The West

Arguably the most beautiful goblet made in western Europe before the Renaissance is the one found in the church of the Augustinians in Rouen, France (Fig. 11). This remarkably fragile object, which is dated to the 14th century, was found, nearly intact, during the demolition of the church in 1949. (St. Augustin had been badly damaged by bombing in World War II.)

The method of construction—specifically, how the stem was formed—is unprecedented in glassblowing history, and a similar technique was not reinvented until the 20th century in Venice.

The St. Augustine Rouen Goblet shows the use of an oven (called a pick-up box, or a top-loading annealing oven) to keep the cup hot while the foot is being formed. When the original object was made, another worker probably kept the cup hot while it was still attached to its punty.

FIG. 11. Verre des Augustins. France, late 14th century. H. 17.8 cm. Musée Départemental des Antiquités, Rouen (1959.4-14.1). Photo: Musée Départemental des Antiquités, Rouen (cg76); © Yohann Deslandes.
FIG. 11

Verre des Augustins. France, late 14th century. H. 17.8 cm. Musée Départemental des Antiquités, Rouen (1959.4-14.1). Photo: Musée Départemental des Antiquités, Rouen (cg76); © Yohann Deslandes.

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The Byzantine World

A bowl with metal handles, perhaps the most widely published example of Byzantine glass, is generally agreed to have been made in Constantinople during the 10th or 11th century (Fig. 12). It is made of dark wine-red glass, and it is decorated with enameling, gilding, and luster staining. The bowl is housed in the Treasury of the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice, and it is believed to be part of the booty brought back to the West after the Crusaders’ sack of Constantinople in 1204.

The bowl and its techniques are often referred to in discussions of the possible origins of enameling on glass vessels as practiced in Murano workshops, beginning in the late 13th or early 14th century.6

FIG. 12. San Marco Bowl, gilded, enameled. Byzantine, probably 10th century. H. 17 cm, D. 17 cm. Treasury of San Marco, Venice (109). Photo: Cameraphoto Arte, Venice / Art Resource, NY.
FIG. 12

San Marco Bowl, gilded, enameled. Byzantine, probably 10th century. H. 17 cm, D. 17 cm. Treasury of San Marco, Venice (109). Photo: Cameraphoto Arte, Venice / Art Resource, NY.

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The Islamic World

As was noted above, questions about the means by which enameling (and gilding) came to Murano are part of ongoing inquiries into the history of Venetian glass. These two techniques were being practiced with great sophistication in Syria (Aleppo?) and Egypt in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is entirely possible that, because of trade or the Crusades, both objects and expertise (in the form of transplanted workers) found their way to Murano.

The Palmer Cup (Fig. 13), housed in The British Museum, is one of the finest examples of the flaring beakers that were made in Islamic glass workshops.7 This form seems to be second in popularity only to the ubiquitous mosque lamp. Except for the idiosyncratic construction of the foot, the technique by which the cup was made is remarkably similar to that used by the Venetians in producing enameled beakers at the same time.8

FIG. 13. The Palmer Cup, gilded, enameled. Islamic, possibly Syria or Egypt, early 12th century. H. 26.3 cm; D. (rim) 13.2 cm, (base) 12 cm. The British Museum, London (WB.53). Photo: © The Trustees of The British Museum (WB.53AN1501269001).
FIG. 13

The Palmer Cup, gilded, enameled. Islamic, possibly Syria or Egypt, early 12th century. H. 26.3 cm; D. (rim) 13.2 cm, (base) 12 cm. The British Museum, London (WB.53). Photo: © The Trustees of The British Museum (WB.53AN1501269001).

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