History

Prof. John Parker I’ll drink a glass to that

Prof John Parker* and Ella Barrett** discuss Jacobite Wine glasses created during the 18th century.

Numerous factors have influenced wine glass design and generated many excellent textbooks on the subject, ranging from the ability of the bowl to capture the wine’s bouquet to the influence of a weight-based glass tax on spiral air-twist stems.

Here we focus on politically motivated decoration of 18th century wine glasses.

An excellent overview on engraved lettering on glass has been written by David Peace, (Glass Engraving, Lettering and Design, published by Batsford, 1985), himself a noted engraver.

He links the constraints of good design to the requirements imposed by the methodologies adopted.

His forebears were craftsmen in the metal file industry and their trademark introduced him to the creation of elegant images. Wood engraving then led into glass decoration.

His book describes the oldest glass artefact in the British Museum with engraved lettering. Dated from 722 to 705 BC, he suggests the pattern was made using a rotating tool.

But by the first century AD, lettering was more often created using engraved moulds as in modern container production. Not until much later did the art of engraved lettering approach the standards demanded now.

The wine glasses that this article focuses on are Jacobite glasses made during the 18th century. In 1714 the last Stuart monarch (Queen Anne) died but she had outlasted all 17 of her children and had no natural heir.

Some saw her half-brother James III as her legitimate successor but as a devout catholic he was legally prevented from inheriting the crown.

A more distant but ‘safer’ relation was George I of Germany (house of Tudor). Another factor was Scotland. The Union with England in 1707 was still raw for many and James III of England was also James VIII of Scotland.

The Jacobite uprisings in support of James VIII centred on Scotland but had many English supporters; the ‘Old Pretender’ was finally defeated in battle in 1746.

Such political movements were influential in the increasingly sophisticated culture of the day. Rebellious groups in society were turning to print and engraved glasses were an extension of this cultural trend.

Coffee houses provided a catalyst for a more modern form of political discussion and more masculine modes of politeness; freemasonry began during this period.

A British identity was being forged through Empire and trade links; indeed, trade alongside links to the Dutch Royal family through marriage meant that Dutch politics was also influencing British thinking.

The material objects created during this period provide insights into the prevailing cultural norms and societal values and are widely studied by historians.

Objects such as coffee cups, tea sets and wine glasses all symbolise aspects of identity; our ‘Jacobite wine glasses’ are one aspect of this, with images representing the Catholic/Scottish Jacobite cause.

Thistles and six petal roses were common images; a bud represented the pretender to the throne. Latin phrases such as ‘Redeat’ (may he return) and ‘Fiat’ (may it happen) were code reinforcing the visual messages.

Our Jacobite glasses were probably decorated by rotating wheel using techniques developed by Dutch artists during the previous century and would have been smuggled into the country, their message being seditious and illegal.

Glass engraving went on to be widely developed in this century by the Dutch and indeed Jacobite Glasses continued to be produced after 1746.

By the end of the 1700s fine pieces with an international reputation were being created.

The engraver aims to use surface damage over a controlled area to scatter light and create a visible but translucent image. One of the simplest methods uses a hand-held tool with a diamond or silicon carbide point to produce stippling by tapping or to draw lines.

Rotating drill heads of different shapes impregnated with an abrasive, like that in the dentist’s toolkit, now offer more flexibility. They are also hand-held and used on a fixed glass piece.

A rotating ‘copper’ wheel often powered by a foot treddle uses an abrasive (e.g. carborundum) introduced as a suspension in a liquid lubricant/coolant (water).

The artist must bring the piece to the wheel but can divide letters into individual steps and use pressure to vary the width and depth of the line created so imitating the action of an ink pen writing italics. The latter method dates back to Roman times but now is sadly on the UK red list of endangered skills.

UK artists like David Peace developed the skills of calligraphy to a level where their work is much sought after in a variety of settings. Prof Turner’s second wife, Helen Munro Turner, was herself a noted glass engraver.

Albert Harland gifted the Turner Museum of Glass its collection of wine glasses in 1943. A Member of Parliament for Ecclesall, Sheffield and a member of the University Council, his collection spans different historical periods.

We hope, Covid-19 permitting, to open our collection to visitors in September during the Annual National Heritage Days and feature the Jacobite cups as a highlight, without re-igniting earlier conflicts. � *Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass, ** Research Assistant and Digital Curator at Turner Museum of Glass The University of Sheffield, UK www.turnermuseum.group.shef.ac.uk j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk