Goblet

Although the Venetians tried to protect their monopoly of colorless cristallo (crystal) glass, issuing strict orders and threatening defecting workers with terrible punishments, the manufacture of this glass spread to many parts of Europe. Consumers from all over Europe coveted the colorless cristallo, as it reproduced the brilliance and clarity of precious rock crystal. From the early 1500s and particularly from about 1550 onwards, great numbers of Italian glassmakers traveled north and began working either permanently or periodically in northern Europe. Glass made in the North but in an Italianate style was usually described in contemporary documents as à la façon de Venise (in the style of Venice). This goblet combines a knop molded with lion's head masks in the Venetian style with molded ribs and fine trails of glass around the bowl.