Stemmed and Prunted Goblet

Because of its deep vertical top rim, this unusual stemmed glass resembles the lower half of a double cup, a pair of cups that may be fitted together at the rims so one forms the cover of the other. Double cups, usually fabricated in metal, were used in ceremonies, toasts, and celebrations of betrothals and marriages. This goblet also closely resembles a type of vessel usually made of rock crystal, with its high stem, projecting prunts, and bulbous cup. Since glassmakers often tried to simulate the clarity of rock crystal with their own product, which was much easier to work than the stone, the glassblower here may have been copying the form of the more precious medium. On the foot of this goblet, a puzzling engraved inscription declares, "4.augustus. was Ick Out. 00.