Beauty and function in one object: a joy !
Jaap Eerland, the man behind Delta 98 Den Haag, now 74 years of age, bought his first antique stemware glass when he was 8 years young. The boy started collecting one certain type of glass and learned about all types in general
paraplu glas, made circa 1780 in Holland
Living just around the corner in the Van Damstraat, Den Haag, he often joined his uncle Cees Stahlecker, or as he called him, Ome Kees, a dealer of estate contents, on the The Hague Market, known as the Haagse Markt.
de Haagse Markt, Herman Costerstaart, Den Haag
It was Ome Kees who teached Jaap how to distinguish old from new glass and even more important, how to bargain. Sometimes Ome Kees even lended Jaap money when the boy had seen something nice on an other stall, so Jaap could go and buy it, return to Ome Kees, who gave Jaap a fair profit for a nice object. A Lalique vase was his best buy with borrowed money, 10 guilders. Ome Kees offered him 15 guilders at first, later 20. But Jaap did not accepted that offer. He did pay Kees back though !
Ome Kees, Cees Stahlecker selling on the Haagse Markt
For his first "paraplu" glass he spended a big deal of his pocket money of 50 cents a week, he bargained the price down from 50 to 35 cents.
In the years following he bought more of this type of glass, also often from an antique dealer in town, Mr. Schoonens.
antique white wine glass, made circa 1780 in England
In the years following he bought more of this type of glass, also often from an antique dealer in town, Mr. Schoonens.
The name used for that type of glass by the antique dealers was:
"paraplu glas", meaning: umbrella glass.
It seems more a by storm swept umbrella to me, but who am I to question an historical name!
Now this type of glass is called:
a stemware glass with a funel shaped, plain or faceted cuppa, with two knops on the stem, on a plain foot with rough or polished-out pontil.
a stemware glass with a funel shaped, plain or faceted cuppa, with two knops on the stem, on a plain foot with rough or polished-out pontil.
So it's obvious we prefer to say: "paraplu glas".
Jaap kept buying this type of glass in all kinds of different heights and color and placed them in his bedroom windowsill.
His mom was not allowed to dust them.
some different sizes, made circa 1820
Jaap learned how to date all types of antique glasses by knowing their appearance on paintings, learning how they were made, the techniques used and be able to see how the glassmass had changed, "dropped", during 150 years.
The first "paraplu" glasses, with a plain cuppa, were made around 1760-1800 in Holland, Germany, Belgium and France, a little later in England.
The ones with cut facets on the bowl came into fashion around 1800.
The ones with cut facets on the bowl came into fashion around 1800.
white wine glasses, made circa 1780
The green or blue-ish-green ones are for white Rhine wine. They were not colored for the beauty, but to hide that the Rhine wine was not always clear.
In Holland we have a saying: Hij schenkt geen klare wijn.
Translated: He does not serve clear wine.
Meaning: He's not frank or honest, he's hiding something
champagne glasses / flutes, made circa 1780, in Holland
It was an anxious moment for me when I saw the two flutes on a fleemarket. I had never seen those types, without facets, before in Jaap's collection. He was not there to check them out. But the price I had to pay was worth the mistake I could make.
champagne glasses / flutes, made circa 1820 in the Low Countries
Beside the fact that some people find it hard to believe that these elegant glasses are 200 to 250 years old, it is even more difficult to realize in what times they were made; no electricity to regulate the temperature of the fluid glassmass, no trains or automobiles for transport, no bubble wrap to pack them.
Knowing wine being expensive in the Low Countries and England and glass being a luxury, you can imagine that the glasses that survived time are quite rare.
They could be afforded by the upper-middle class and by owners of fancy inn's. Times of using, washing, drunkness, moving and wars went by, sets being split up by inheritances.
It took Jaap 15 years to match 6 flutes dating from circa 1820 with the same height and facets and up to 2002, to get two flutes made circa 1780
At home I presented them to Jaap ...... they were okay !!!!!
Indeed made in the 18th century.
Indeed made in the 18th century.
Why did I hesitate? Because I already knew this type was also made circa 1900-1910 in, anyway, Holland. Made again. I knew I could not see the so called "dropping" of the glass mass, I just did not have the experience to see that. I only knew to be aware when these glasses are to much or exactly the same. And when the flutes are made of leaded glass or crystal, they are usually made in the early 20th century. But not always....English glasses are often crystal.
What a confusion !
antique red wine glasses, made circa 1820 in the Low Countries
To conclude this article I have to mention the reason of the two knops.
That's easy. It was just functional.
To be able to hold the glass firm in your hand with greasy fingers.
Eating and dining without all the cutlery we are used to today, perhaps only with a knife, perhaps a two-pronged fork, but with a large napkin and a glass or a nice glass or a very nice glass
antique white wine glasses in beautiful petrol colors, made circa 1820 in England
Enjoy ! But do not ever put them in the dishwasher !
Jaap will never stop buying these glasses, he has hundreds now.
I asked him why. He said:
"Not one of these glasses are the same, they all differ"
a small part of the collection
Madness !
tekst: Marx Warmerdam
glasses: collection of Delta 98 Den Haag
