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Rummer with Raven's Head Seal

Rummer with Raven's Head Seal

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Object Name: 
Rummer with Raven's Head Seal
Department
European
Category
19th Century European
Baroque
Place Made: 
England, London
Date: 
about 1676-1678
Color
AAT
colorless
Technique
AAT
glassblowing
AAT
applied decoration
Material
AAT
lead glass
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 18.8 cm, Diam (max): 10.6 cm
Accession Number: 
50.2.2
Location: 
On Display
Description
Colorless lead glass; pattern-molded and blown, with applied decoration. Large spherical cupped-in bowl decorated with nipt-diamond waies; applied vermicular or frilled collar at top of hollow, cylindrical, fluted stem with six applied berry prunts and raven's head seal; applied, flaring, conical, ribbed foot with narrow folded rim, rough pontil mark.
Label Text
In March 1674, the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft applied for a patent to make colorless lead glass. Unfortunately, this glass was prone to crizzling, a chemical instability that results in an attack by atmospheric moisture, producing a network of cracks in the surface. Ravenscroft revised his formula, adding more and more lead oxide to the batch. By mid-1676, he announced that his improved glasses were to be marked with a seal, a custom known from several glasshouses that made lead glass. His stamp featured a raven's head, taken from his family's coat of arms. Corning's rare Ravenscroft goblet was made with the new lead formula. It is decorated with mold-blown ribbing that is pinched to form a mesh design on the bowl. This pattern is called "nipt-diamond-waies." One of the prunts at the bottom of the stem is stamped with a raven's head.
Provenance
Steuben Glass, Inc., Source to 1950-10-01
Ratcliffe, R. F., Former Collection to
National antiques exposition
Venue(s)
Madison Square Garden 1947-03 through 1947-03
Title Unknown (Marshall Field & Co.)
Venue(s)
Marshall Field & Co., Chicago 1974-10 through 1974-11
 
Title Unknown (Gump's)
Venue(s)
Gump, R. B. 1947-04 through 1947-06
Title Unknown (Rich's)
Venue(s)
Rich's Inc. 1948-10 through 1948-10
 
Title Unknown (Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia)
Venue(s)
Philadelphia Museum of Art 1948-11 through 1948-11
Masterpieces of Glass from The Corning Museum of Glass
Venue(s)
National Gallery of Art 1990-12-02 through 1991-04-14
 
The Art of Glass: Masterpieces from The Corning Museum of Glass
Venue(s)
IBM Gallery 1989-12-12 through 1990-02-03
National Gallery of Art 1990-12 through 1991-04
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass
Changing Exhibitions Gallery
 
Seasons Greetings from Sherry-Lehmann (1990/11) illustrated, p. 71; BIB# 90994
L'Histoire du Verre: A Travers Les Tresors du Musee de Corning (1990) illustrated, p. 62;
Masterpieces of Glass: A World History From The Corning Museum of Glass (1990) illustrated, pp. 142-143, pl. 63; BIB# 33819
Vetri del Settecento e dell'ottocento (1985) illustrated, p. 9; BIB# 32949
A Short History of Glass (1980 edition) (1980) illustrated, pp. 57, #52; BIB# 21161
George Ravenscroft: New Light on the Development of His 'Christalline Glasses' (1968) illustrated, pp. 163-164, fig. 4, #B 2;
Art in Glass (1955) p. 137;
Title Unknown (Art Digest) (1943-11)
A Ravenscroft Goblet Comes to America (1943-11)
Title Unknown (The Antique Collector) (1943-07/08)
Antique Affairs in England (1943-07-09)
Title Unknown (Apollo) (1943-06)
English Glass (1st Ed.) (1935) pl. XVI (d); BIB# 27790

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More