Glass from H - K

H - Handled glasses, tankards

Wertheim Glass Museum

Since the 19th century, H glasses or tankards have been considered the "classic" vessel for beer.

The preferred material was glass, because glass best reflects the purity and quality of the beer, and the elaborate cut and incised motifs enhance the brilliance of the glass.

More glass under H:

Mugs, jugs with handles, wooden moulds

I - Islamic glass

Wertheim Glass Museum

I for "Islamic glass" is the name for the new independent glass art that developed with the spread of Islam under Muhammad (d. 632) on the Arabian Peninsula.

Wertheim Glass Museum

The preferred decoration of the drinking vessels, bottles, bowls, flacons, inkwells and mosque lamps were:

- pinched and drawn glass threads
- Fused-on nubs and drops
- optically blown dents, honeycombs, ribs and layered eyes
- cut and polished arabesques, discs and circles
- Gold and enamel decoration (13th/14th century)

I - Insulated vessels

Wertheim Glass Museum

I for insulated vessels are manufactured in Wertheim by two companies from Thuringia:
Helios Dr. Bulle GmbH & Co. KG - the oldest insulated vessel manufacturer in Germany (founded 1909 Ilmenau/Th., since 1950 Wertheim)
alfi Zitzmann GmbH (est. 1914 Fischbach/Th., since 1949 Wertheim)

Wertheim Glass Museum

The inventor of this double-walled glass vessel (1903) was Reinhold Burger (1866-1954). As a "thermos bottle" for keeping drinks warm, he made the vessel, which originally served to store liquid oxygen, usable for the household and marketed it under the slogan:

"Keeps cold, keeps hot - without fire, without ice".

J - Art Nouveau Glasses

Wertheim Glass Museum

J for Art Nouveau Glasses (Art Nouveau around 1895 - 1905) are a reaction to the historicising styles. Characteristic are the vases made in etched decor by Emile Gallé and Daum Frères from Nancy, France, Loetz Witwe from Bohemia or Tiffany from the USA.
Art Nouveau loved the plant-like ornamental decoration with curved lines, goblets with trumpet shafts and the so-called "button goblets". The latter were held between the knob and the base of the dome with the thumb and middle finger, thus giving the right grip when drinking.

J - Jena glass

Wertheim Glass Museum

J for "Jenaer Glas" - this was the name under which the fireproof borosilicate glass invented by Otto Schott in 1887/93 found its way into the household in the 1920s: baby milk bottles (1918), cake baking dishes, bowls, tea and coffee cups or the "Max and Moritz" salt and pepper shakers, now considered "classics", which Wilhelm Wagenfeld designed for Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik Geislingen in 1953.

K - Celtic Glass Bangles (Celtic Rings)

Wertheim Glass Museum

K - as in "Celtic glass bracelets" are completely seamless bracelets made by twisting, shaping, pressing and spinning a piece of glass twisted into itself. Such rings were found in wealthy women's graves (1st century BC).
Glass arm rings made according to the Celtic centrifugal method are still made today by glassmakers in Bida/Nigeria in only 2 minutes.

K - Goblets of the Langhans Foundation

Wertheim Glass Museum

K for chalice glasses from the "Langhans Foundation" - these are cut and engraved unique pieces that Franz Wendler (06.06.1913 - 28.10.2007) from Haida/Bohemia has been making in Rheinbach since 1970, in addition to friendship cups and goblets made of clear crystal and coloured flashed glass. Many of his glasses have the same basic shape, but different cut and cut motifs according to Wendler's own designs - making them valuable unique pieces.

K - Goblets

Wertheim Glass Museum

From the 17th century onwards, K for goblets stood for the refined table culture of the aristocracy. Preferred shapes were goblets with stems, pointed goblets and flutes made of transparent, cut Bohemian crystal or English lead crystal glass.
From 1900 onwards, the Roman became the national symbol for Rhine wine. Painted, cut, overlaid, with a thin stem, baluster stem or trumpet foot, it stood for the new bourgeoisie that had come into wealth.

Wertheim Glass Museum

At the same time, the first, mostly 6, 8 or 12-piece sets of glasses with the same basic shape and decoration appeared on the market.

K - Goblet Romans

Wertheim Glass Museum

K for Kelchglas-Römer like the 6-litre "Great Roman" in the Glass Museum.
A sip from it can be a real experience when it is offered to guests as a welcome drink - for example during the guided tour "Wine drinking vessels yesterday and today" with wine tasting from historical glasses.

K - Jugs and pitchers

Wertheim Glass Museum

K for jugs, pitchers and carafes like this jug from the 1920s captivate with their simple, geometric form in Art Deco style.