Dimensions: height 28.2 cm, diameter 15.5 cm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
This glass goblet with two men smoking was etched by an anonymous artist. Its smooth, transparent glass is shaped into a bulbous base leading to a round stem, then flares up into a wide-rimmed cup, creating an elegant silhouette. The delicate engraving of two men smoking introduces an element of everyday life onto an object of refined craft. Their inclusion disrupts the goblet's pristine form, infusing it with a narrative quality and turning it into a signifier of social interaction. The choice of glass as a medium is also critical. Its transparency implies a sense of openness, a willingness to display and share. This challenges the fixed meanings of functional objects by giving this goblet a voice that speaks to the transient pleasures of human connection. The goblet's form and the etched figures form a semiotic dialogue between form and function. This challenges us to reconsider the boundaries of art and craft.
Comments
Stipple-engravings consist of nothing more than configurations of tiny dots. When the dots are close together, as in the faces of the peasants on this goblet, they create a lighter field. Set further apart, as in the clothing of the peasant with the pipe in his mouth, the eye reads this as a darker area.
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