Topic: Biedermeier cut Rosa glas becher c.1835 - show and tell

[flying free]

‘Rosaline’or ‘Rosa Glas (,Rosé ’ )’ underlay cased in clear - Biedermeier becher

This is a fascinating piece of glass for me.  I think it is clear glass with gold ruby underlay.
This is, as far as I can see, the same as a colour described in the Harrach book as ‘Rosaline’ (English language book) and in the Das Bohmische Glass Band II book(German language) as ‘Rosa Glas (,Rosé’)’.*

It is heavily cut with each cut being a relief raised design rather than it being engraved into the glass as it might look in the photographs (including the base).  There is a medallion device in the shape of a heart front and back.
 
The back is engraved in gothic script ‘Andenken von Grosser Winterberg’. This is beautifully done in terms of style of script and the way each letter is executed. 

As mentioned, the cutting on the whole glass is in relief, in absolutely minute and intricate detail not visible on the photograph.  It is very sharp to the touch and very precise and accurate on the whole piece.
The ‘diamonds’ are all actually raised pyramids.  On the sides they are four sided pyramids with the addition of an engraved cross onto the top of each pyramid.  On the horizontal bands they are four sided pyramids in a diamond cut style seen on early Biedermeier clear glass items dated to the 1820s and 30s.  On the heart on the front they are tiny six sided pyramids. 
The foot looks ‘jagged’ in profile because it is completely cut in relief with diamonds and hexagons, so the becher stands on little hexagonal feet.  And each hexagonal ‘foot’ has around 16 of the minutest flat top hexagonal pyramids cut into it.
It has faceted vertical bands forming a ‘waisted skirt’ shape and faceted horizontal plain bands cut between the two horizontal pyramid cut bands.

Reference sources for identifying the glass:

1)  The form - horizontal bands with diamond pyramids around the becher:

   See Harrach From Neuwelt to the Whole World book for a Dominik Biemann engraved Neuwelt becher (1828-1829) pp135 fig 153, with similar double raised horizontal bands with diamond cutting to those on mine and a similar shape to the becher.
I have provided a link to this becher below - unfortunately if you click on the picture the article comes up without an enlarged picture,so the thumbnail is the only view I could find - it is the second picture down on the left with a lady facing left on it:
http://www.glas-forschung.info/03_glas/schnitt.htm

 See also this candleholder (seite 19/62) for similar cut horizontal bands or rings around the body:
http://www.pressglas-korrespondenz.de/aktuelles/pdf/pk-1999-6w-harrach-kreuze.pdf

(id’d in the Harrach book pp78 fig 52 as c.1832 which is earlier than the 1835 as per the link.)

See 'Dish on Stem' in the Harrach book, fig 106  pp 105 dated 'after 1835'

See Goblet in the same book fig 90 pp 96 dated c.1835
and finally
for the same horizontal facet planes between the two diamond cut bands, see fig 115 pp109 dated c.1830


2)   The facet cut shape:

For the waisted and flared skirt type facet cutting design:
 see in the Harrach book:
-   ruby glass becher  dated ‘after 1830’ fig 81 pg 93 
-   fig 82 pp 93, which also has similar angular faceted waist design with the downslope flair. 
-    Fig 78 pp92 footed beaker with lid dated before 1835.
-   Fig 122 pp 108 vase dated 1836

-   See also for similar faceted shape and cutting:

a)   The Ruby glass (composite gold ruby)beaker fig 80 pp 93 which has a vertical faceted low waist above a horizontal cut band and then is faceted to the bottom of the glass and has a cut base

b)   Becher sold by Dr Fischer Auctions and dated 1833 on the becher
   https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/3166414_becher-schloss-muenchengraez-glass-beaker-bohemia

c)   This ‘Fortuna becher’ (Scroll quite a way down to see the clear glass becher) here which is dated 1830s and is a similar shape and cutting  http://s445157861.website-start.de/schnittglas-19-jh/
Image link here
http://s445157861.website-start.de/s/cc_images/cache_32267230.jpg?t=1402212720

-   See also this plainer example dated 1825
https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/3815471_becher-ansicht-cudowa-silesia-glass-beaker


3)  Diamond Cut design:

 The description of the Harrach cutting on page 85 of the Harrach book appears to possibly indicate an 1835 onwards date for the becher:
 ‘The end of the 1820s and the first half of the 1830s were years when the concentration and diverse combination of cut decoration on Neuwelt glass reached a pinnacle in terms of its widespread use. The diamond cut (as in the early 1820s) continued to be in great favour…’
It goes on to say ‘The second half of the 1830s and early 1840s saw a certain relative decrease in the use of the diamond cut in the refining of Neuwelt artefacts; it no longer had the dominant role as in the preceding years. Now mostly geometrically arranged diamonds served primarily as the filling for geometric forms (for example leaves, scallops and horizontal and vertical bands)… ' 

In the Das Bohmische Glas Band II book on page 85, there is a footed goblet with a knop in the stem and a cut bowl that has wave and diamond cutting in a similar design to part of mine.  It has been dated c.1840 based on another goblet  in the book fig II.318.
 
However I have also found this catalogue page, which appears to bear out my feeling that this becher dates to c.1835:
See glas-forschung link page 22 where there is a catalogue of bechers dated 1832 for Franz Römisch Steinschönau,  which show similar designs and shapes.  Although these are an earlier date than I believe this one dates to, they show the great similarity in the elements of form , design and cutting.
http://glas-forschung.info/museum/glasdocu.pdf

And there are more 1832 catalogues here showing similar faceting and a waisted and banded body:
http://www.pressglas-korrespondenz.de/archiv/pdf/pk-2002-1w.pdf

As mentioned all the cutting on the whole glass including the base, is in relief raised out of the glass in ‘points’ or ‘pyramids’. Particularly, on the sides of the becher the cut pyramids have a little crossed etched on top of each pyramid. 
I have seen this cut on one piece dated c.1840, however this type of cut can be seen on the following examples in the Harrach book all dating to mid 1830s or earlier: 
fig 109 (1831), fig 65 (1835), fig 66 (1834), fig 113 flacon (c.1835), fig 52 (c.1832)


4)   The heart shape motif:

 It has been difficult to find any examples with heart shapes but I’ve found two others which also date to mid 1830s:
-   On a gold ruby becher 1835-1840 ’1.4. Becher aus Goldrubinglas, geschliffen. Harrachsche Hütte, Neuwelt, 1835-40.’ – page 4, where the heart actually appears to be set into the same wave design and with the same slanted angle cut at the top either side of the heart:
http://www.glas-forschung.info/pageone/pdf/farbglas.pdf

-   And a lithyalin becher with heart from  Joachimsthal um1835 Josef Zich
https://lot-tissimo.com/de/i/10712418/p/32/?PHPSESSID=tk30769c4hdvelmqg0t27ihe96

The goblet with a similar wave and diamond cut design mentioned in my point 3) (dated c. 1840) along with the gold ruby glass becher above with the heart and similar cut design on the front (dated c.1835), as well as the similarities with so many cut pieces in the Harrach book, means I am very confident the becher originated from Harrachsche Hutte.


5) Colour – Rosaline underlay with clear glass overlay (?gold ruby underlay):

a) The following quote was taken from the Harrach website:
http://en.sklarnaharrachov.cz/museum/overview-of-art-styles
In the first quarter of the 19th century, the glassworks in Harrachov produced mostly clear glass, the characteristics of which were supposed to evoke diamond as much as possible which was very popular at that time – that is why customers preferred this to color glass. Only around 1825 – with the arrival of the new Biedermeier style – the focus changed to color glass that, in the course of time, suppressed the production of clear glass, which dominated the glass production in the central Europe since Renaissance. The Prague exhibition in 1828 represented the end of Empire style in the Nový Svět glassworks' production. There was yet another reason why the year of the exhibition marked a turning point for the glassworks – it was when the production of layered ruby glass with crystal commenced, which became one of the symbols of Bohemian glass in the Biedermeier period.

The thirties of the 19th century were a period when open competition of the individual glass producers took place in inventing new glass color variants and in their subsequent market use. At that time, the Harrachov glassworks produced an extremely broad range of color glass. Apart from clear (crystal) glass, the glassworks also produced hyalite glass, both clear and milk glass that was layered in red, blue, green, violet etc. The most frequently melted composite glass was red, amethyst and pink. '

b) And there is an example of the same pink colour glass becher overlaid in clear (different shape with an engraved horse medallion on the front ‘workshop of Franz Pohl’) in the Harrach book fig 170 pp141 dated 1830s (Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, inv.no. 46526).

*This ‘pink’ coloured glass overlaid in clear, appears in both the book Das Bohmische Glas Band II (published in 1995) and the Harrach book, Jan Mergl (published 2012).  I am pretty sure it is what the DBG book calls ‘Rosa Glas (,Rosé ’ )’glass and what the Harrach book refers to as ‘Rosaline’ glass, because both books show one example that is the same - a decanter and two glasses described as ‘Rosa Glas (,Rosé ’ )’ glass in the DBG book and as ‘Rosaline’ in the Harrach book. 
(Both books also show other pieces in each book equally described as Rosaline and ‘Rosa Glas (‘,Rosé)’ ’,  but not repeated from DBG to the Harrach book).
 The Harrach book makes a reference to ‘Rosé’ glass on page 87 where it says:
**‘In the second half of the 1820s and the 1830s Neuwelt flacons were made in colourless glass, but also in black and red hyalith, compound ruby, Kunkel ruby, Rosé glass, uranium glass and (around 1840) opaque glass.’
And then on page 73 under notes, point 77, the book says ‘So-called Rosé glass was de facto ruby glass, which was used in a thin layer so as to look more pink than red’.**

c)   The following link shows a crucial piece in the puzzle as it is dated 1839 and has the pink underlay with clear casing:
https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/auktionshaus-wendl/catalogue-id-sraukti10004/lot-16cce232-6a94-49d5-aa74-a5b00114fcc1

d)   Spiegl talks here on page 21 of the rosa underlay being primarly cased with clear from the 1840s onwards.  However if I understand it correctly it does not preclude glass from  earlier years being pink cased in clear and the above two are good examples of this.
http://www.glas-forschung.info/pageone/pdf/farbglas.pdf

I also think the way that article is written indicates that this becher is likely to be gold-ruby pink, with the pink created by using a thin layer with clear over as per the description here**


6) The date:

So the form, the cutting and the underlay ruby glass cased in crystal appear to fit with the 1830s.
There are five pink underlay glasses cased in cut crystal in the Andreewitch website here, with no 19 (very different form and style to mine) actually dated 1843:
http://www.andreewitch.at/biedermeier_glaeser_andreewitch.html

Three are dated to c 1830 with no maker and no source reference.  However,  there is one in particular, no 15, which appears to be the same colour, cutting style, form and is so remarkably similar to mine to the point where it appears to have been made at the same time and by the same hand possibly:  http://www.andreewitch.at/biedermeier%20glaeser/IMG_6430_276_kl.jpg

They have dated it to c.1830 -   I think it is possible that it, along with my becher, might date a few years later as indicated by my research above.


And looking up Grosser Winterberg on Wikipedia has provided some interesting information (translated with google):

 ‘Already in 1819 was on the South Summit by the Forestry Treasury the first guest house built. First tenant was a gentleman Peschke from Lichtenhain . August von Goethe stayed in June 1819 here and wrote: "There is here a small Haeusgen where you will be well entertained, beer, rum, etc. are good too, we met here for 2. Bohemian musicians with harps that sang quite like and played and were surprising for the whole society. " [2]
But the house already burnt down in 1821, but was rebuilt. 1827 was operated by Friedrich Büttner. The first views scaffolding was erected on the summit 1835th’ (my bold)'

In addition I found a reference to Great Winterberg where it appears in the following travellers companion book in 1836:
On page 379 it talks about the guest houses there.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7wpXAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA379&dq=great+winterberg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKmfHe-LfPAhUkLsAKHVz0CAUQ6AEIMDAE#v=onepage&q=great%20winterberg&f=false


I have found three bechers with Grosser Winterberg references on them:
 
One says it is from c.1850 and it’s very different to mine, as is the next example.  They both have pictures of the hotel that was built between 1840 and 1846:
http://www.pressglas-korrespondenz.de/aktuelles/pdf/pk-2014-1w-sg-wallf-becher-velehrad-1863.pdf
http://www.ebay.de/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=262609689717
But this one seems to be dated 1837 (unfortunately no picture can be seen although it says there are engraved views including the place Winterberg)
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/dailyauction/lot-detail/auktion/7910-mobel-antiquitaten-bilder/lotID/7006/lot/797928-fussbecher-erinnerung-an-die-sachsische-schweiz-1837.html?currentPage=2

Mine has only words on it.  One explanation for this might be because at the time it was made there was no viewing platform (or the engraver had not seen it) and there was only a guest house there perhaps i.e. just before 1835? 

Or it might be that it dates to 1835 as that was when the viewing platform was first built and so would have been a ‘commemorative’ year for visitors perhaps? 

But I do think it is possible the engraver either had not been there or there was nothing to engrave i.e. the hotel was not built and the viewing platform was so new it may not have been seen to be able to engrave it.


Summary:

From the design, colour, execution and cutting of the becher, my thoughts are that the glass probably dates to around 1835. 

This would also coincide with the first viewing platform being erected at Great Winterberg and with the details given in the traveller’s companion of 1836, although that might be confirmation bias on my part.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing it. It's an important piece of glass for me, given the cutting and the colour combination and age.

[flying free]

More pictures showing the detail of the cutting

[flying free]

last couple

[keith]

  That's some work, you've been busy ! heck of a piece of glass, great find 

[flying free]

Thanks
I've only just found this piece but it's another early example in the rosaline cased in clear but completely different form.
This one dated c.1830.  So I feel more secure about my dating now I've found another underlay piece dated to a similar period


https://www.dorotheum.com/en/auctions/current-auctions/kataloge/list-lots-detail/auktion/11189-art-and-antiques/lotID/510/lot/1879518-sugar-bowl-with-lid.html?currentPage=10

Interestingly, I've not been able to find any more bechers with hearts on, but the shape was a key motif in the Biedermeier period and can be seen especially in carved chair backs of the period.

I've attached a pic of some of my very small collection

m

[keith]

Small but perfectly formed, as they say 

[flying free]

thanks - I'm really pleased to have got the pink becher. 
I have a couple more pieces but they are triple layered i.e. in double overlay glass and later than this pink one I think.

m

[Anne E.B.]

Wonderful piece of glass! 
Terrific piece of research too.

[flying free]

Thanks Anne  
I really enjoyed researching it as it's a period of glass I love ( but generally cannot afford) and I particularly wanted to get a red/pink piece.

I just want to add a further piece of information about the book referencing Great Winterberg:

I've added a photograph of the front page of the book so it can be found by others if the link goes.
There were subsequent volumes of this book, I know of at least one written in 1838 with additional information on other subjects,and have seen others online dated later.
However, having read the preface of this volume dated 1836 particularly the last para on page 2 of the Preface, it appears 1836 was the first time it was written/published (pictures attached of the two pages of the Preface).
Looking again at the piece about Great Winterberg the author writes:

'On the summit, 1700 feet above the sea, there is a sort of Inn, consisting of two or three separate huts, where travellers may obtain decent beds and ordinary fare, if they make up their mind to pass a night here for the sake of seeing the sun rise over the Bohemian mountains.'

So if the book was published in 1836 it is possible that his piece was written in 1836 or perhaps even 1835.  His description of Great Winterberg does not mention a viewing platform and just describes what was there as a couple of huts.
So perhaps at the time my glass was made, there was actually nothing to engrave as a picture of Great Winterberg, as it appears people climbed it for the height and the views.  Therefore the only thing to engrave would have been the name. 

As I said, confirmation bias needs to be taken into account here because obviously it might be that the engraver was simply no good at engraving pictures but could do letters, therefore just inscribed the name only - and that would apply to whenever the glass was made of course, whether before or after c.1835.

m

[flying free]

Here is a clickable example of another becher with a diamond cut design pyramids with the little cross cut into them (re my original post point 3) ):

http://sbirky.moravska-galerie.cz/images/diela/MG./17/CZE_MG.U_23990/CZE_MG.U_23990.jpeg

It is dated  1831.

This one is also intricately cut and appears from the side view, to have an intricately cut base as well:
http://sbirky.moravska-galerie.cz/images/diela/MG./67/CZE_MG.U_24061/CZE_MG.U_24061.jpeg

dated 1820-1830.

m