Getty Museum

Joke Glass (Scherzgefäss)

Date

17th century

Medium

Free-blown pale green glass with applied decoration; silver and silver-gilt mounts

Culture

German or Netherlandish

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

This rare glass was designed to be as difficult as possible to drink from without spilling the alcoholic beverage within. The tube attached to the head and terminating in the man's open nose could serve as a straw. The goal was to amuse the onlookers at the expense of the imbiber: in drinking competitions, the drinker had to guess how to drink from the vessel; if any liquor was spilled, he was required to start again with a full glass. Called a "joke glass," this is the world's only intact example resembling a man. These glasses more commonly took the form of a stag, another animal, a horn, a penis, or a boot. This man's elaborate decoration in glass and silver is also unusual. Delicate pincered glass thread forms the hat brim, collar, vest, and ribbon trim on the breeches. The plumed hat band, belt, buckle and sword were added in silver.

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.