Getty Museum

Footed Beaker (Stangenglas)

Date

1600

Medium

Free-blown colorless (slightly brown) glass with diamond-point engraving

Culture

Bohemian

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

This is one of the finest examples of a glass engraved with humans and animals, in this case depicting particularly lascivious scenes with great precision and delicacy. On one side, a naked woman holds a sheet of music and a conductor's baton above her head. A clothed man behind her grabs her breast with his left hand and draws a large bow across her as if she were a stringed instrument. On the other side, another naked woman holds a fox's bushy tail between her legs, while a dog leers at her with his tongue hanging out. These subjects, which may have been copied from engravings, were popular in northern Europe for their symbolism and sexual innuendo. The inscribed words make the images still more explicit. The term *Stangenglas,*deriving from the German word for "pole" or "stalk," describes the vessel's tall and narrow shape. These glasses were used for alcoholic beverages, especially beer.

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