An extremely fine and rare friendship wine glass, or goblet, of Newcastle light baluster (NLB) type with its original cover, superbly engraved c1760 by Jacob Sang, the master engraver from Amsterdam. The flared round funnel bowl features a pair of clasped hands flanked by a pair of stylized cornucopiae and surmounted by a crown. Typical of Sang's work is the fine polished detail. The reverse is inscribed, in the unmistakable hand of Sang, with a poem written c1740 by Dirk Smits Gedichten of Rotterdam:
MIND GY EDELE VRIENDSCHAP TEEDER (If you value tender, noble friendship)
VULD MY DAN TOOT AAN DEN RAND (Then fill me to the brim)
DRINKT MY LEEG, AND VULD MY WEEDER (Drink me empty and refill me)
STELD MY ZOO UW VRIEND TER HAND (And thus hand me to your friend)

The bowl is on a slender stem with a teared angular knop above a teared inverted baluster knop and a further basal knop. The conical foot has a rough pontil, while the domed cover has an applied beaded spire finial and an interior rough pontil mark. Lead metal with superb color, striations, and tooling marks. This masterpiece is 10 1/2" tall including its cover, and 7 5/8" without. The diameter of the bowl is 2 7/8", and the foot diameter is 3 1/8". Both pieces are in extraordinary condition, with only normal, appropriate, and expected wear.

Note: Approximately 6 of these extremely rare "Poem Goblets" are known to exist, and all were engraved in the Sang atelier. However, this goblet is unique in the records, being the ONLY one to retain its original cover, thus making this an incredibly rare survivor. The last sale of one of these goblets, though without a cover, was at the 1999 Sotheby's auction of the renowned Dr. Otto Dettmers Collection,

For similar items see L.Fuchs, "Jacob Sang, Ein hollandischer Glasschneider deutscher Nation", Die Weltkunst, XXII (1954), p.4, no.13, and F.Smit, "A Concise Catalogue of Eighteenth-Century Wine-Glasses Wheel-engraved by Jacob Sang", p.12, 1760.1. For three other similar glasses see Smit, op.cit., p.12, 1759.11, 12 and 13, the last inscribed and decorated in the same manner.

Antique Glass