98. Large engraved glass leg cup, Bohemia or Silesia, Riesengebirge (Hirschberger Tal), circa 1710-20 An impressive Bohemian or Silesian engraved armorial goblet, Riesengebirge (Hirschberger Tal), circa 1710-20 The generous faceted rounded bucket bowl decorated to each side with an elaborate cartouche richly embellished with masks, birds and scrollwork, and further adorned with reclining figures and animals, one enclosing a coat of arms with three Moor's heads, the other a crowned mirror monogram, both sides decorated with a seated female figure beneath a canopy, one holding the Anchor of Hope and the other the Horn of Plenty, all surrounded by a profusion of foliate scroll ornament and further birds, the stem with a faceted shoulder knop set between collars, above a faceted inverted baluster with a basal merese, the conical foot richly decorated with foliate scrollwork incorporating four seated animals, including a camel and a monkey, 25.5cm high Provenance With Heide Hübner Kunsthandel Christian von Reitzenstein Collection This goblet belongs to a distinct group of glasses with dense and finely cut lace-like decoration, which were once considered to be Bohemian in origin. A very similar armorial goblet is illustrated by Rainer Rückert, Die Glasammlung des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums München, Vol.2, 1982, p.256, pl.XXVI, no.771, where a comprehensive list of comparable examples is cited. Brigitte Klesse and Hans Mayr also cite several similar examples and outline the various arguments for both a Bohemian and Silesian origin in their discussion of the example in the Ernesto Wolf Collection, see European Glass from 1500-1800, 1987, no.100. The consensus is that they were probably made in the Hirschberger Tal. Rückert notes that in form they are more closely related to Bohemian glass, and that they fluoresce a different colour to most Silesian glass under ultraviolet light. He suggests that they may therefore represent a Bohemian export.