Topic: German Glass - Roemer Style but Label Doesn't Match

[justjeff]

Picked up this single piece here in Richmond, VA US. I thought the label would help me id this easily but searching Vohenstrauss only brings up the town but no artist that matches the label. Anyone recognize this mark and how do you describe this style? I only mentioned "Roemer" because it seems most of their glass matches this style. Thanks!

[Paul S.]

Hi  -  you may struggle, permanently, to find the maker  -  this shape has been made for a very long time by just about every glass manufacturer in that part of Germany, but you are correct with the word roemer, and made usually in some shade of green, and intended for white wine I believe.               Not to be confused with rummer - an almost uniquely British drinking glass -  almost always in clear glass and a very different shape.
Nice glass by the way  -  probably modern - and I'd suggest made for the tourist market, but a very good find 

[KevinH]

Not too easy to find specific detail relating to the label, although a google search (excluding "pinterest" entries) shows a few pages with evidence of the same label for boxed "home wares" or "tourist wares".

And a couple of references give "Kunze" as a possible clue - but it may simply be a "home wares retailer" in the town of Vohenstrauß, where, apparently, the "Kristallglas raffinerie" is situated. But the refinery could be a "finishing company" applying decoration to glass and porcelain items.

There is a current American eBay listing for two similar "wine glasses" which states "1970s" and "Kristallglas Raffinerie Co in Vohenstrauss".

[justjeff]

Just wanted to say thank you for the replies. I have to admit I thought "Roemer" was the manufacturer and not the style so that was helpful. I guess it makes sense but everything I seem to be finding from overseas leans "tourist-ware". I'll pursue the "Kunze" path a little ways to see if anything pops up but right now it sounds like this is simply a common German roemer glass with the village/town's name on it.

[Paul S.]

for obvious reasons tourist glass travels the most - hence why such pieces predominate in places far from their origin, although all glass travels to some extent.             I doubt this one was ever made to be used - just a memento of someone's holiday, but it's attractive.
Roemers make for a good collecting theme, the problem being that those from the C15 and C16 tend to cost an arm and a leg.
Traditionally, the coiled stems were decorated with raspberry prunts (slightly flattened copies of the raspberry fruit), and the origin of the word may possibly be from the Lower Rhenish word 'roemen', which apparently means to boast, and seems the spelling is sometimes rӧmer, but no idea why the two spellings.

[Anne]

Römer = roemer  the German character ö is the equivalent of our oe sound.

My son collects this type of glass but as yet hasn't starting finding out about their makers.

[Paul S.]

thanks Anne  -  don't envy your son  -  these things exist in unbelievable profusion and variety.                              My source for the spellings was Harold Newman's 'An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass' (1977), so a tad dated perhaps now, but I notice he quotes the following as a primary source of information (in 1977) for these things ................... "For their development and many illustrations, see Journal of Glass Studies (Corning), X (1968), p. 114, and XI (1969), p 43". 

Am sure there are more up-to-date books for these things, though possibly Continental published volumes, since Germany is the source for probably all of them.
sorry, can't seem to get rid of the italics

[Paul S.]

quote  ........................  "since Germany is the source for probably all of them."      Rubbish - found one in a charity shop this morning, on the bottom of which was impressed  'MADE IN FRANCE'

[Anne]

Yes quite a few of my son's are French too, Paul. Some of his are marked Luminarc France, others just France. I have a few catalogues with them in to try and match up for him, but I've not had the time to look into them yet! 

[justjeff]

quote  ........................  "since Germany is the source for probably all of them."      Rubbish - found one in a charity shop this morning, on the bottom of which was impressed  'MADE IN FRANCE'

Yep, just ran into a "France"- labeled roemer today. Definitely Luminarc, Arcoroc.