Topic: Interesting Engraved Goblet - German? English? Czech?

[eglass]

Hi you all! I bought this a couple of months ago, and haven't been able to find out much about it - maybe you all will have some ideas.

This tall (8.5") goblet has a beautifully done engraving of rearing stallions and an alarmed rider. The stem has a delicate ruby "ribbon" of glass twisted up through it, and the foot's nicely decorated as well. I normally don't buy damaged stuff on purpose, but this seemed too special - that little chip on the rim wasn't enough to keep me from being first in line at that Santa Fe estate sale, to get it.

Here's a whole page of pics since we can only upload 4 here, thought I'd save some server space.

http://www.enchantmentglass.com/engravedgoblet.html

Someone suggested a Czech engraver whose name escapes me at the moment, but I'll find the info and post it ASAP. I apologize if I don't get back to the board right away, but I will be back online tomorrow morning.

As always - many, many thanks.

Kelli

[malwodyn]

Reminds me a bit of the Lipizaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.  Very likely to be 19th Century Bohemian - and a quality piece too.  Possibly earlier rather than later.  Lucky you!!

[eglass]

Malwodyn, thank you! I just don't have references for this era/type of glass so am pretty much at a loss to identify things like this. I'm grateful to be able to at least put it in a time bracket.

[malwodyn]

Looking again at your pictures - which are really first class - I began to have doubts, thinking that the stem is perhaps more "English" in style.  However, I still think it is more likely to be Bohemian/Czech - though some Bohemian engravers did emigrate to England (and to the States, too).  Top quality work, wherever it was done.

[eglass]

Malwodyn, thanks again! I spent a week convinced the piece was English, after seeing such similar work in an old British Glass book. But then have wavered back and forth between English, Czech and German/Bohemian after other web research. Sometimes it's hard to give up and just enjoy a piece for what it is, ha!

[dirk.]

hi Eglass,
have you considered to contact a collector or expert for military objects? the uniform of the
rider may point towards a region as well as to a date.

[eglass]

Dirk, I hadn't thought of that - very interesting idea! I'll see what I can find out - and thanks!

Kelli

[krsilber]

Beautiful piece!  Really gorgeous engraving. 

Following up on Dirk's suggestion to look at the uniform, I found this site:
http://www.uniforminsignia.net/index.php?option=com_insigniasearch&view=insigniasearch&Itemid=53

A double chevron on the sleeve can denote a US Army Corporal, but don't know how many other countries used the same motif (or if that is indeed a double chevron and not an outline of a single one).  Britain used chevrons, at least in WWI, to denote wounds, but that was on the right sleeve.

Is the rim ground flat?  My tendency is to say not Bohemian, but I'm by no means certain of that.

[Lustrousstone]

The uniform looks early 20C and not English. The chevron points the wrong way for a start and would be on the other arm for rank. LH chevron was a good conduct stripe. The hat looks "foreign". I think that UK cavalry generally wore peaked caps in mounted service at this sort of time (WW I). During the Boer War it seems to have been pith helmet or brimmed hats. Horse weren't used that much in WW II by the British

IMHO I don't think it's a UK uniform.

[Ivo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipizzan