Many of us enjoy a glass of wine but have you ever thought about the history of the humble wine glass?

People have been using glass to drink wine from since ancient times, but the modern-day design we think of – essentially a bowl, a stem and a base – is medieval and emerged around 1400 in Venice. Back then, Venice was the centre of the glassblowing world. The Venetians had learnt how to purify their alkaline source which meant that they could make “cristallo” – a very sought-after form of clear glass. However, when the Venetian glassmakers began to purify their raw materials to remove elements that caused discolouration, they inadvertently removed some of the things that were making the glass durable, like lime, which acted as a stabiliser. This meant that the original clear glasses could start to deteriorate quite quickly in normal air and caused the glass to have a series of very fine cracks caused by the loss of alkali that eventually caused the glass to fall apart. 

In the 17th Century, the English began to follow in the footsteps of the Venetians and create a glass industry of their own. A crucial moment in the development of glass came when the Royal Navy asked glassmakers to stop cutting down oak trees to fuel their fires. They were depleting the forests of trees needed for ship building. So English glassmakers turned to sea-coal. This burned to much higher temperatures, creating hotter furnaces, which immediately strengthened the glass. This stronger glass also produced stronger bottles, which played a crucial role in the birth of champagne. Fermenting wine was shattering French bottles all over the shop, but the English starting re-bottling their imported French wine and fizzy wine could begin to be celebrated.

In the 1670's George Ravenscroft was put in charge of trying to make glass better and more beautiful. He added lead oxide and flint to the mix, which made the glass stronger still, and gave it the look of crystal. This is because lead oxide affects how the light passes through – it causes the different colours in light to travel at different speeds, a process known as dispersion.

In the early 1700’s the wine glass was kept away from the drinker. Your glass would have been brought to you by your footman or your valet, who would also fill it up for you. You’d then glug down its contents and hand it back to them. But through the late 1700’s and into the 1800’s the wine bottle moved to the dinner table, and so did the glass. Finally, the ability to top oneself up without being judged by the staff!

With glasses on the table there was a desire for more elegant, sophisticated models. Wine glasses got taller and more elegant, and stems got longer, with twists and little bulges called “knops”. But the aesthetically pleasing stem had a practical purpose too. Wines should be served at the correct temperature but they can easily grow too warm with a big, hot hand around the bowl. Not only did holding a glass by the stem look elegant, it also helped wine to remain at its peak optimum temperature. 

The most sought after wine glasses at auction are those made by William Beilby (1740-1819) who specialised in fine enamelled glasses and these rare pieces can realise up to around £10,000 at auction. But don’t let this put you off starting a wine glass collection other 18th wine glasses with hand engraved bowls and coloured inset twist stems can be brought in our Fine Art sales here at Sheffield Auction Gallery from as little as £50.