Claw Beaker

Place of OriginProbably Germany

Dateabout 400

Dimensions6 × 3 15/16 in. (15.2 × 10 cm)

MediumGlass; blown, applied, tooled

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2021.40

Not on View

DescriptionGreen glass with applied claws, trails, and foot. Some bubbles. The tall body tapers slightly towards the base and has an applied splayed disc as a foot. The decoration consists of two bands of zig-zag trails bordered by straight trails around the center of the vessel’s body and beneath its flared rim. Vertical, notched trails run down the beaker’s body from beneath the rim to the foot. Together the horizontal and vertical trails divide the body’s surface into a network of eight rectangular fields, four in the upper register and four in the tier below. Each rectangular field has been set with a protruding, bulbous claw of blown glass. The terminating ends of the claws in the top tier attach to the top of the lower claws. Notched trails have been dropped vertically along the top of each claw pair. The vessel is intact, but displays a few stable cracks and a small chip in the rim that has been filled with resin. There are a few small areas of weathering at the base of the interior and in the tips of the claws.