Festive beaker with hunting scene

Around the end of the 16th century, lapidaries started decorating Glass too. The technique they employed is still in use today: different-sized copper plates are affixed to a stationary shaft and coated with an abrasive. The engraver holds the piece to be engraved against the rotating tool from underneath. Unlike rock crystal, Glass has no considerable value as a raw material; if it shatters, the shards are worthless. An engraved Glass Object, which required a great deal of time and effort to produce, was a pure luxury. Thus it is all the more remarkable that even green forest Glass was used for engraving. This magnificent beaker is certainly not usual, for the Glass is as perfect as forest Glass can be. The gilding conveys the illusion that the hunting scene is not engraved into the Glass, but rather embossed onto the surface. (Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk)