Cameo Plaque of a Knight Fighting a Demon

Object Name: 
Cameo Plaque of a Knight Fighting a Demon

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Object Name: 
Cameo Plaque of a Knight Fighting a Demon
Accession Number: 
92.2.1
Dimensions: 
Overall Diam: 29.9 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
about 1880
Credit Line: 
Gift of Juliette K. Rakow in memory of Leonard S. Rakow
Primary Description: 
Opaque white and transparent turquoise blue (and probably colorless between); blown, overlaid, acid-etched, cameo-carved. Shallow, circular shape, with gently curved sides; opaque white on the interior, carved in a representation of a knight with fluttering cape, a sword raised in his right hand, and circular shield in his left, in combat with a winged demon, his hand grasping the sword blade, while brandishing an arrow in the other, upraised hand; the knight's helmet on the ground, alongside another arrow; flames and smoke at the right and at the left in the background; a half-man, half-bird figure flying in from the upper right.
Department: 
Provenance: 
Hill, James T. Jr., Former Collection
Rakow Estate, Juliette K. (Mrs. Leonard S.) (d. 1992), Source
1992-04-01
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.
English Cameo Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass (1994) illustrated, pp. 29, 60, fig. 24; BIB# 35913
Important Acquisitions from the Rakow Collection (1993) illustrated, p. 139, #4; BIB# AI32225
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 1992 (1993) illustrated, p. 7, bottom; BIB# AI96377
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, pp. 62, 110, #44; BIB# 30609