A Roemer with Gilt Decoration of the Coats of Arms of the Holy Roman Empire, Dated 1662

The focus of this article is a roemer decorated with gilt coats of arms of the Holy Roman Emperor and seven Electors, once in the collection of Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild (1836–1905) and now in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass (2023.3.11). Below the arms is an inscription stating that the roemer is a Wilkum (Wilkomm or “glass of welcome”) and the date, 1662. The technique of gilding is unusual: the gold is on the exterior surface of a pebbly red underlayer, which XRF reveals to be consistent with red bole or minium. This made the unfired gilt decoration more stable and less likely to wear with handling and gave it a perceptible thickness. Two other roemers, dated 1661 and 1662, in the collections of the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Cologne, and the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Kassel, having gilt decoration produced using the same technique, are attributed to the same single, unidentified artisan. These roemers are, at present, the earliest known examples of the technique for gilding on glass.