4 - Renaissance glass goblet, Venice, circa 1500.

Renaissance glass goblet, Venice, circa 1500. A clear glass goblet with a cone-shaped stem supporting a flared truncated cone-shaped bowl. The bowl features twelve molded ribs created using the meza stampaura technique, which rise from the base to two-thirds of the bowl’s height. There are traces of gilding on the ribs. The upper part of the bowl is decorated with enamel dots and gilding in several layers. The bottom of the bowl is flat, and its rim is adorned with a band of clear glass worked with pliers and gilded. The foot is also decorated with twelve ribs bearing traces of gilding. Above the rim, a band of colorless glass is applied, decorated with gilding. The bowl is attached to the foot by a solid disc of colorless glass at the top of the foot, and the pontil mark is located beneath the foot. Moving down from the top, the bowl’s decoration is arranged as follows: 1. White enameled dots 2. Red enameled dots on a band of several gold ribbons 3. Three rows of blue enameled dots on a gold background with a scaled pattern 4. Red enameled dots on a band of several gold ribbons 5. Three white dots forming an inverted triangle Height: 22.5 cm Condition: On the flat bottom of the goblet, a crack runs along a semicircle; this likely dates back to the goblet’s manufacture, as there are no signs of impact. The glass shows the usual signs of wear beneath the foot. Although found in many museums in France and abroad, this type of goblet remains extremely rare in private collections. Its shape and decoration, which first appeared in the late 15th century, underwent several variations and continued to be produced during the first third of the 16th century. These glasses can be considered emblematic of the inventiveness and technical mastery of Venetian glassmakers at their peak. A goblet of similar shape, but with smooth sides, appears in Albrecht Altdorfer’s painting, *Loth and His Daughters* (1637), housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Gemäldegalerie, 2923).