Ca 1650-1700, Netherlands

A rare façon de Venise wine glass in superb condition. On a flat foot with folded rim and a hollow baluster stem, a funnel shaped bowl with rounded base. The bowl with an engraved portrait of Dutch statesman Johan de Witt (1624-1672) and inscribed on the other side in large lettering ‘J de Wit’, possibly by Willem Mooleyser. The portrait after a contemporary print by Abraham Bloteling ca 1660-90.

D 8,5 cm, H 16,2 cm

Provenance: this glass passed down by inheritance through a Dutch family. A similar glass is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, albeit with a replacement foot and part missing stem. It is illustrated and discussed on page 166 of ‘Glass in the Rijksmuseum’ volume II, by Pieter C. Ritsema van Eck, 1995.

Superb condition, no damage or restoration.