Technical Description
An exceptionally rare Venetian enamelled glass tumbler dating to between 1780 and 1810, by Osvaldo Brussa. The tumbler has a nativity scene in white enamel around the bowl with a polished pontil.
The enamel is painted onto the tumbler and then a sharp engraving tool used to outline and detail the scene. It's the technique used by Brussa and you can see the identical tumbler and same workmanship detail, with a different scene, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and also a serving bottle at the NGV in Australia. The links are below.
Enamelled Tumbler at V&A London
Also a serving bottle at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia
Enamelled Serving Bottle By Osvaldo Brussa at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia
Date & Origin
Italy, c1780-1810
Condition
No chips or cracks and the enamel is all in very good condition. There are thin scratches to the base of the tumbler which have almost certainly come from a glass ice crusher stick. Obviously someone’s favourite glass.
Dimensions
Height: 7.8cm Bowl Diameter: 5cm
Comments
Quoted from the V&A link above...
The object is one of a group of nine Venetian enamelled glasses which were given in exchange by the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh.
Its Royal Scottish Museum inventory number was 1873/23/149
Acquired by the Royal Museum of Scotland (now National Museums of Scotland) in 1873 from Salviati & C. in Venice, and listed in their catalogue: Salviati & C., Collection de verres anciens de Murano : en depôt pour la vente chez l'établissement Salviati & Co., Imprimerie du Journal "Il Tempo", 1872, p. 14, No. 155 'D.o plus petit'
