| Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants at Corning Museum of Glass
By STAN PARCHIN
January 7, 2010
| | Gold Glass with Pelorius (4th Century). Probably Rome. Diam. 6.2 cm (2.4 in.). Glass, blown (two gathers) and gold foil applied and incised. Corning Museum of Glass. | 
| Bottle (14th-15th Century). Probably northern Italy. Glass, gather inflated in dip mold, withdrawn and blown to final shape and size. H. 22.7 cm (8.9 in.); Diam. (max.) 12.6 cm (5 in.). Corning Museum of Glass.
Beaker Decorated with Prunts (13th-14th Century). Northern Italy, Switzerland or southern Germany. H. 12.5 cm (4.9 in.); Diam. (rim) 8.4 cm (3.3 in.). Corning Museum of Glass. | 
| | Hedwig Beaker (late 12th Century). Glass, blown (perhaps through mold) and wheel-cut. H. 8.7 cm (3.4 in.), Diam. about 7.1 cm (2.8 in.). Corning Museum of Glass. |
The international loan exhibition Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants at the Corning Museum of Glass (May 15, 2010-January 3, 2011) is the first of its kind in the United States to explore the evolution of glass production over the course of the medieval millennium (ca. 500-1500 A.D.). The presentation includes more than 100 rare objects for daily secular and religious use. Selected from the Corning Museum, the Glasmuseum Hentrich in Dusseldorf, Germany, other collections and cathedral treasuries in Europe, the fragile works date from the end of the Roman Empire through the Venetian Renaissance, both highpoints in the creation of glassware.
Dr. David Whitehouse, Executive Director of the Corning Museum, stated, "The exhibition traces the history of the Middle Ages in Europe through the lens of glass-making. The story touches on politics, trade, urbanization and the disintegration of cities, religion, science and technology. It depicts the rise of glass-making from a dark period of reduced knowledge to an era of innovation."
Glass-making in Medieval Europe
The first efflorescence of glass production in Western civilization occurred in classical Rome, where artisans employed various techniques to create works of astonishing beauty and resilience for wealthy patricians. As the Empire waned, glass-makers and the knowledge of their craft all but disappeared. The rise of the guilds and the merchant class in the burgeoning cities of late medieval Europe spurred a revival in glass-making, with Renaissance Venice having become a principal center for the material's manufacture.
Secular and Religious Glass
Arranged chronologically, the exhibition's objects (many recently discovered by archaeologists) reflect the eating and drinking customs of medieval European society. Attention is paid to the growing decoration of glass vessels. Color reproductions of illuminated manuscripts, paintings and tapestries illustrate the artifacts' daily usage in a variety of circumstances. Other parts of the installation describe glass for the church, the treasury, science, medicine, alchemy, reading spectacles and optical experiments.
One stained-glass window, reliquaries, lamps and drinking vessels in a separate gallery demonstrate the use of glass for liturgical purposes. Also present are examples of the Hedwig Beakers (late 12th Century), unusual cups found in European treasuries. They were named after the pious Saint Hedwig of Silesia (d. 1243). According to legend, the Germanic queen, much to her husband's chagrin, abstained from consuming wine. Yet whenever the king's spies approached her, Hedwig's engraved beakers mysteriously filled with the liquid. Some scholars insist that the cups are Islamic in origin. Dr. Whitehouse attributes them to glass-makers in Palermo, Sicily. His research suggests that a Norman king brought them north of the Alps after his marriage to a German noblewoman.
Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants is supplemented by videos that explain the extraordinary techniques of medieval glass manufacture and live demonstrations of the craft.
Sources
Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis (eds.), et al. At Home in Renaissance Italy (exh. cat.). London: V&A Publications, 2006, 255-265.
Alcouffe, Daniel, Barbara Drake Boehm, et al. The Treasury of San Marco (exh. cat.). Milan: Olivetti, 1984, 77-81, 181-183, 191-193, 195-200, 209-214.
Bayer, Andrea (ed.), et al. Art and Love in Renaissance Italy (exh. cat.). New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 2008, 93-99.
Carboni, Stefano, et al. Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797 (exh. cat.). New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 2007, 252-279, 339-344.
Morelli, Giovanni and Laurence B. Kanter (eds.), et al. The Treasury of Saint Francis of Assisi (exh. cat.). Milan: Mondadori Electa SpA, 1999, 158-179.
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