Façon de Venise Wine Glass

Date17th century

OriginEurope, Italy or Netherlands (probably)

MediumGlass

DimensionsOH: 7 3/8in. (18.7cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Michael L. Westfall in Memory of Susan K. Westfall

Object number2020-124

DescriptionWine glass: conical folded foot rises to basal merese and hollow tapering stem which supports a conical bowl; the stem with aquamarine trailed wings and clear glass pincered ornamentation.Label TextArchaeological finds throughout 17th and early 18th century America reveal evidence for façon de Venise -- glass in the Venetian style or taste -- and its ownership by early settlers in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York. Finds at Jamestown, Virginia, uncovered stems of similar wine glasses. And archaeological evidence unearthed in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, and Boston, Massachusetts, have turned up aquamarine-colored winged stem fragments similar to those seen on the stem of this glass.

Not only does this wine glass closely relate to archaeological finds of façon de Venise owned and used in 17th century America, but it also bears an important provenance having come from the 19th century collection of Lady Maria Elisabeth “Lili” Cartwright.