Goblet 1665 - 1675

Curator: Today we're observing a goblet made between 1665 and 1675, likely by Hermann Schwinger, a work that lives within the decorative arts tradition. What do you notice first about it? Editor: Immediately, the craftsmanship jumps out. The level of detail… someone really cared about this object. And it looks incredibly delicate! I wonder what hands shaped it. Curator: Given its context and the opulence glass objects represent during this time period, especially as we look at the detail of its sculptural design, it must have taken tremendous labor from a glass blower to produce something so refined. I’m interested in thinking about that intensive material process in its making. Editor: Yes, and its creation! It’s beautiful, but almost impractical. I imagine this piece mostly served to symbolize wealth and status. Curator: It seems so, the coat of arms engraved so elegantly gives it an aristocratic feel. There's such care etched into its side, I wonder if its owners thought of this craft as a skill worth paying tribute to. Editor: And did the maker also see the creation process that way? Glasswork in the 17th century would not have been like glasswork today. Curator: Of course. I wonder what communal rituals and traditional processes might have occurred as glass of this nature were blown, given their expense and fragile structure? What kind of social hierarchy of workers might have played a hand, literally, in its creation? Editor: All these questions arise when you think about process, and its physical context! I wonder how those glass makers lived, if they saw the art in the goblet the way that we do. Curator: It really makes one contemplate the intersections of art, labor, and material value in a bygone era. Editor: A humble drinking vessel—blown not just of air but full of meaning! I feel very lucky that you gave a material context to this beautiful object.