Collection of Winged Glasses

Venice and Netherlands, 17th century
Colorless and blue glass
Height 13-30 cm

Provenance: UK, private collection

Since the 16th century, glasses from Venice or in the Venetian manner were prized for their imaginative shape as well as technical perfection which shows particularly in the elaborate shafts of the exquisite vessels presented here. Indeed, this unique group of winged and serpent-stemmed goblets reflects the virtuosity of the glassblowers working in Murano as well as in the north-alpine glassworks specialized in the production of façon de Venise glasses in the 17th century. While such elaborate goblets were certainly made as luxurious drinking vessels to be used at the table, they are also known to have been regarded as collection items. Hence, the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel shows a similar serpent-stemmed goblet that Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Kassel-Hessen acquired in the 18th century to put into his glass gallery. In establishing a collection room of this kind, which was devoted exclusively to the display of glass from Venice or in the Venetian manner, the Landgrave was following in the footsteps of his godfather, Frederik IV of Denmark, who had set up a glass cabinet at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen by 1709.