28 ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES. &.C. OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM- 



compartments, with subjects from the Old and New Testaments ; Moses striking the Rock, 

 the History of Jonah, Daniel in the Lions' Den, the Fiery Furnace, the Sacrifice of 

 Isaac, the Nativity, and the Paralytic Man ; of these the Nativity is a very rare 

 representation. 



Of glass of a Teutonic origin there is but one specimen in the collection, a tumbler of 

 peculiar form, from a cemetery at Selzen, in Rhenish Hesse. Like other glasses of the 

 time, it is so made that it cannot be put down until it has been emptied, and thus testifies 

 to the convivial habits of the Teutons. 



Of early Byzantine glass but little is known ; the bowl with Diana and Actfeon, 

 already noticed, is very probably of that period ; and a Byzantine cameo with the head 

 of Christ should be mentioned. 



Of glass of the middle ages, from the West of Europe, but little or nothing has 

 been preserved save the exquisite painted glass in cathedrals and chui'ches. Of the 

 Eastern glass of the same period several specimens are in the collection. Among these 

 is a very beautiful bottle, probably of the IStli century, decorated with a minute pattern 

 of birds ; a lamp of large size, made in Syria to hang in a mosque, bears the name of 

 Sheikhoo, a man of great wealth and importance in Egypt and Syria, who died in 1356, 

 after building a mosque at Cairo. 



To a later period of the Eastern glass works may be referred an ewer of a sapphire 

 blue, resplendent with gold arabesques, and several other richly-decorated pieces, all 

 made in Persia. 



Venice for many centuries held the foremost place among the makers of glass. Enriched, 

 to begin with, by her very extensive trade in beads, she received gladly the Byzantine 

 workers in glass, who had been driven out of Constantinople by the Turks. Hence- 

 forward the variety of her glass wares increased, and must have brought much profit. 

 The earliest glass vases Avhich can with certainty be referred to Venice are of the loth 

 century ; of these a large covered cup with gilt ribs is remarkable for its early date and 

 size. The two finest specimens are, however, two goblets richly enameled ; one of them 

 is blue, with a triumph of Venus : the other green, with two portraits. These were the 

 choicest specimens in the Debruge and Soltykoff Collections successively, and were 

 obtained by Mr. Slade, for upwards of 400 /. , at the sale of the latter collection. Among 

 other enameled specimens may be noticed three shallow bowls, or dishes, with heraldic 

 devices: one has the arms of Pope Leo X,, 1513-1521; another those of Leonardo 

 Loredano, Doge of Venice, 1501-1521 ; and the third the arms of Fabrizio Caretto, 

 Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, 1513-1521. 



The blown glasses of Venice are numerous and well selected, exhibiting great beauty 

 of outline and variety of design. Among them should be esjiecially remarked, a very tall 

 covered cup, surmounted with a winged serpent, from the Bernal Collection ; and two 

 drinking glasses, with enameled flowers forming the stems. 



The coloured vases display most of the hues made at Venice ; ruby, purjjle, green, and 

 blue, as well as an opalescent white and an opaque white, the latter often diversified with 

 splashes of other colours. To these may be added various imitations of agate, avanturine, 

 &c. Another peculiar fabric of Venice is well illustrated, the frosted glass belonging 

 generally to an early period. 



In the production of Millefiori glass the Venetians did not equal the ancients, either in 

 harmony of colour or variety of design. The rosettes were formed of sections of canes, 

 such as were employed in making beads. The specimens of this glass are rare, but there 

 are not less than seven pieces so ornamented in the collection. 



Of lace glass, one of the most remarkable productions of Venice, and wliich nowhere 

 has been carried to such perfection, there are many fine specimens, both in form and 

 delicacy of pattern, as there are likewise of the variety called reticelle. Among the latter 

 is a tall covered cup with snakes on the cover and in the stem ; there should also be 

 noticed a drinking glass, in the stem of which is enclosed a half sequin of the Doge 

 Francesco Molino, 1647. 



Of unquestionably ancient French glass but few specimens are known. This adds 

 much to the value of a goblet in the collection, with enameled portrait of Jehau Boucau 

 and his wife Antoinette, made about 1530. 



German glass is fully represented : the earlier specimens are richly decorated with 

 enamel, chiefly heraldic devices; they are dated 1571, 1572, &c. A few are painted like 

 window glass, and among them is a cylindrical cup, dated 1662, on which is depicted the 

 procession at the christening of Maximilian Emmanuel, afterwards Elector of Bavaria. 

 The later German specimens are engraved, and some of them by artists of note. Of ruby 

 glass, another production for which Germany was famed, there are good specimens ; one 

 bears the cypher of John George IV., Elector of Saxony, another that of Frederick the 

 First; Kunckel, to whom these glasses are attributed, was successively in the service 

 of both princes. 



Though glass was early made in Flanders, the most ancient specimens in the collection 

 under this head have been regarded as Venetian glasses decorated in the Low Countries. 

 If made at Venice, they must, from certain peculiarities of form, have been designed for the 

 Flemish and Dutch markets. The ornaments are etched, and contain allusions to the 

 political events of the country: for instance, the arms of the 17 provinces chained to those 

 of Spain and dated 1655 ; a portrait of Philip IV. ; William II. of Orange ; his wife, 

 Mary of England ; Olden Barneveldt, &c. Some of the later specimens are engraved on 

 the lathe in a very ornamental manner, and others delicately stippled. One of the latter 

 bears the name of F. Greenwood, and others are attributed to Wolf 



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