Engagement or Marriage Goblet

Object Name: 
Engagement or Marriage Goblet

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Object Name: 
Engagement or Marriage Goblet
Accession Number: 
2009.3.80
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 13 cm, Diam (max): 7.3 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
about 1800-1899
Web Description: 
An inscription promising eternal love and loyalty adorns this goblet. It reads, “Mein Herz, dein Herz, / mein alles Blut und Leben, / das stehet dir zu Dienst, ich kan dir nichts meh / rers geben” (My heart, your heart, all my blood and life, I surrender to your service because I cannot give you more). There is no indication of the couple’s names and dates, however. Instead, the message is accompanied by a scene of two winged putti handing each other their hearts. Tokens of love in elaborate and enduring forms—including precious metals, embroidered fabrics, and finely engraved glass —were some of the most highly favored gifts in courtly society following the Renaissance. During the 19th century, as middleclass families became more prosperous and luxury goods such as glass were produced in greater quantities and at lower cost, this type of gift-giving was enjoyed by members of various social classes. The style of decoration indicates that this goblet dates from the Baroque revival period in the late 19th century. The high quality of the craftsmanship and the character of the engrav-ing suggest that it was made in northern Bohemia or perhaps in the celebrated Josephinenhütte in Schreiberhau, Lower Silesia (present-day Szklarska Poręba, Poland). There, Franz Pohl, who had married into the prominent glassmaking Preussler family, established a glass factory that became the largest and best known in Silesia. The Preusslers had emigrated from southern Bohemia in 1617 to produce glass for the counts Schaffgotsch, and Pohl’s glasshouse operated with support from the same patrons.
Provenance: 
Kunst-und Auktionhaus Dr. Jurgen Fischer, Source
2009-10-23
Material: 
Primary Description: 
Colorless glass; blown, engraved, gilt. Goblet has wide foot with narrow stem which widens gradually to conical bowl and rim. Top of foot has been engraved with a decorative pattern. Bowl has an elaborately engraved design of two putti in a panel surrounded by floral pattern on one side and a passage in German script on the other. Where stem meets bowl, there are a series of horizontal bands and repeating circular pattern. The rim has a band of gilding.
The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2009 (2010) illustrated, p. 41, #27; BIB# AI79879
Europasches Glas & Studioglas (2009) illustrated, #264; BIB# 112076