Cylindrical beaker with depiction of a married couple Hall in Tirol

Glass workshops following the Venetian example started to appear from the 1520s at first in Laibach (Ljubljana), then, in 1534, in Hall in Tirol (in eastern Austria near Innsbruck), and some time later primarily in the Netherlands. Despite it being more difficult to source raw materials and the lack of talented Glassmakers, these workshops still provided competition. Although the quality of early works ‘à la façon de Venise’ was not comparable to that of the best Venetian products, it was nevertheless distinguished. The cylindrical Glass is typical of this workshop. It has a German form, smoke-tinted Glass which, compared to Venetian products, is very thick, and diamondpoint engraving. The carefully executed figurative, gilt engraving is rare. It shows an affluent husband and wife. She is holding an ostrich-feather fan, he a tankard – perhaps a reference to canting arms. At the sides it is probably the phoenix, the mythical bird, that is depicted four times. (Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk)