Getty Museum

Tumbler (Stehaufbecher)

Date

1631

Medium

Free-blown dark cobalt blue glass with enamel decoration

Culture

German or Bohemian

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

The inscription on this whimsical tumbler refers to its ability to right itself when laid down on its side, thus encouraging constant refills. It instructs the user to empty its contents and lay it down; when it stands up again, it asks to be refilled and passed on. The inscription concludes by extolling the virtue of true but illicit love: *If you love me as I love you, I ask no more of you. Many are lovable, but only you make me happy. I drink you from the bottom of my heart, though I should not make merry with you. [I] drink to all deceivers. I wish they would all hang who begrudge me and you everything* . Both the length of the inscription and the frankness of its message are characteristic of glasses produced in the Fichtelgebirge region of central Germany. This type of vessel was known there as an *Aufsteher,* a vessel that would not tip over.

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