Hemispherical Cup on Stem (Trick Cup)

DateProbably 17th century

DimensionsH: 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm); Rim Diam: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)

MediumGlass; free blown, tooled

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.857

Not on View

DescriptionThis hemispherical cup on a stem, known as a “trick cup,” is made of thin glass with numerous small bubbles, some very irregularly shaped on the underside of the base, along with a few black specks. The glass is transparent and colorless with a greenish tint (5 G 7/2). The vessel is free-blown with no visible pontil mark. It was formed by first blowing a sphere of glass that was then depressed inward to create a double-walled, hemispherical body. The wide convex rim was formed by pushing up the base of the bubble to produce an inner cup within the cup. It has hemispherical walls, a short tubular stem, and a high pushed-in base with a narrow tubular base ring. This trick cup corresponds to known parallels such as Smith BMMA 8, p. 50, Hayes 1975 no. 117, and Auth 1976 no. 98.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Corning, New York; The Corning Museum of Glass, Glass from the Ancient World, 1957, fig. 241, p. 129 (A similar vessel with added decoration around stem).