A favourite decoration on the German Wiederkoms is the arms of the emperor or electors, those of the different states of the empire, and of private owners (Fig. 304).
The colour of this kind of glass is usually green and the decorations are enamelled or painted in grisaille; as a rule the German cups and wine glasses of the seventeenth century are richly decorated (Fig. 305). In the German wine-glasses known as “flügelgläser[flügelgläser]” is seen an imitation of the Venetian “winged glasses” (Fig. 301).
Fig. 305.—Decorated German Vases; Seventeenth Century. (S.K.M.)
Bohemian glass of the seventeenth century is noted for its clearness and good quality, and illustrates the advancement made in the art of engraving on glass. The engraved work was done with a diamond point as in etching, with the lapidary’s wheel, and by means of biting the glass with fluoric acid; the latter method is said to have been discovered by Henry Schwanhard of Nüremberg in 1670. John Schäper was a very clever glass engraver and decorator of this period.
A beautiful kind of German glass is known as Kunckel’s ruby glass, the originator of which was the director of the Potsdam glass works, where he produced this variety about 1680.
Many relics of glass vessels and beads have been found in Roman tombs, and in various parts of England, of a greenish or blue colour. These may have been imported or may have been made in England, but there is no certain evidence of this. Glass vessels for drinking purposes have been found which are believed to have belonged to the Anglo-Saxon period (Fig. 306).
The material of these is thin, the colour is generally of a pale straw tint, and strips of thickened glass ornament the outside, arranged in the nature of parallel lines, or wound spirally to produce a kind of network decoration.
Fig. 306.—Anglo-Saxon Drinking Cup. (S.K.M.)