Museum complex

Goblet – “Joker”

Izmailovo Glass Factory
End of the XVII century
Clear and manganese glass. Glassblowing
Height – 33,5 cm
From: the collection of P.I. Shchukin, 1905
Showcase 2

The goblet is a rare example of the famous “joking” vessels produced at the Izmailovsky glass factory of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
If you don’t know the secret, it’s impossible to drink from such goblet without spilling over. There is a reservoir under the top cup of the goblet, isolated from the cup and hidden by the sculptural decoration. The reservoir has two exits: a spout with a hole on the side, and a glass tube that goes over the body of the goblet and then goes down and ends with a hole at the very bottom. When wine is poured into the goblet, it fills only the body and a part of the tube. Wine cannot get into the lower “apple”-shaped reservoir, as the tube rises above the goblet’s body. Wine can be drunk from the side spout only: wine rises through the tube up, reaches the bend, then by gravity falls into the reservoir, and from there into the mouth. Due to such “siphonal” system, liquid is pumped over independently, i.e. the wine will pour until the goblet is empty completely independent of your desire. That is why a person has to drink all liquid from the goblet without taking even a breath. The only way to stop the flow of wine pouring from the goblet is to blow strongly into the spout of the goblet.

More information...

In Russian medieval life glass was a rare material. Imported glass vessels decorated only the sovereign's palace and nobility houses. In the middle of the XVII century several items of local glass factories began to appear. The Izmailovo Factory, which played a prominent role in the history of Russian glassmaking art, was built in 1668 in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow (now the territory of Moscow) by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and was managed by the Secret Chancery (Prikaz), then by the Chancery of the Grand Palace, and in 1710 it was transferred to the Apothecary Chancery (Prikaz) and soon closed. This factory produced “for the use of the great sovereign” more than 200 types of items: “amusing and figured glass”, “crystal” (i.e., very pure clear glass) dishes with engraving and gilding, simple items made of colorless and green glass, and after 1710 – pharmaceutical dishes. Foreign and Russian craftsmen worked at the factory. The most famous of them was Indrik Lerin, a “figure foreman”, who arrived at a young age and worked at the factory for more than forty years. It was he who made these famous “joker”-vessels.

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