All crystal clear: 18th-century glass à la façon de Bohème from the cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine, Belgium

Excavations at the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine, located near Arlon in the south of Belgium, revealed an assemblage of 18th-century colorless glass. The morphology of the vessels and the engraved decoration suggest a central European origin or, at least, stylistic inspiration. The composition of the glass points to a recipe combining silica, lime, and potash: a colorless potash glass à la façon de Bohème. This article considers the technology, morphology, and origin of the vessels. The art-historical analysis is supported by chemical research (scanning electron microscopy–energy-disper... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Herremans, Davy
Cagno, Simone
Vincke, Anke
Janssens, Koen
De Clercq, Wim
Dokumenttyp: journalarticle
Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
Schlagwörter: History and Archaeology / Glass / Historical archaeology / Material culture
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29374210
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/2998085

Excavations at the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine, located near Arlon in the south of Belgium, revealed an assemblage of 18th-century colorless glass. The morphology of the vessels and the engraved decoration suggest a central European origin or, at least, stylistic inspiration. The composition of the glass points to a recipe combining silica, lime, and potash: a colorless potash glass à la façon de Bohème. This article considers the technology, morphology, and origin of the vessels. The art-historical analysis is supported by chemical research (scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy [SEM-EDX]). The finds are also discussed in light of the emerging northwestern European glass industry, changing consumer practices during the 18th century, and their meaning for the inhabitants of the abbey.