hebrardcatherine

Mar 8, 202312 min read

The glassworks of the Château de l'Herm (Dordogne), part 1: Drinking glasses

The Château de l'Herm belonged for decades to Dominique and Marie Palué who saved the magnificent castle of "Jacqou le croquant". They also organized archaeological excavations. The four excavation campaigns (2003 to 2006) yielded 4,437 glass shards: 2,035 belong to tableware, 2,391 to flat glass and 11 correspond to jewelry. Of this set, 1410 potsherds (i.e. 31.8% of the total) were found in the latrines. Here will only be discussed drinking glasses: 7 shapes are listed. More posts will follow to show the rest of the glassware.

Marie et Dominique Palué ont sauvegardé le château pendant des décennies avant de le céder...

Only three pieces were found, the complete profile of which could be drawn. During its stay in the ground, the most fragile parts, mainly the cuts, are often reduced to small fragments. Only the thickest parts generally remain: feet and stems. In addition, the glass devitrifies either totally or partially, or it can also be covered with a film of alteration.

1.Tapered hemmed stemmed glasses - forme XVI.A1.a

These are glasses made up of a single gob[1]. The container is formed on a hemmed base by upsetting the parison. Sometimes they can be made with two parisons where the upset and hemmed base is mounted on a blow-blown or molded container[2]. The small number of shards in our possession does not allow us to determine the shape of the container, which is generally cylindrical, conical or frustoconical.

Four complete feet, three incomplete feet and two tops correspond to this type of stemmed glass. The tops of the feet are flat, domed or wavy. Some feet have retained the traces of the pontil characterized here by a cylindrical bead of glass located in the center, under the top. These feet are low, less than two centimeters for three specimens, between two and three centimeters for three other feet. The glass used is colorless, greyish or greenish. These glasses have no decoration on their stem but that does not mean that the container was devoid of ornamentation.

This type of glass begins to be used at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. It was very widespread in the 16th century throughout France: in the region of Tours[3], in the southern Mediterranean[4], Besançon[5], Châlons sur Marne[6], Paris[7] by example at the Carnavalet museum, Metz[8], Lille[9], Orléans[10], Tours[11]. The same dating is retained by James Barrelet[12]. Some of these glasses were made in the workshops of Binois and Chevrie in Argonne until the 17th century[13]. At the Château de l'Herm, some fragments were found in US 101 and 104 of zone K survey I. US 101 is dated 1614/1615 thanks to the presence of a coin. Others come from survey 4 dated from 1590 to 1652, and two other fragments come from the conduit of the second floor of the latrines whose glass material is prior to 1619. It is then possible to say that this type of glass was present in the crockery from the castle at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.

[1] Une paraison est une masse de verre que l’on travaille au bout de la canne à souffler. [2] BARRERA J., Orléans, le verre du XIIIe au XVIe siècle, Revue Archéologique du Loiret, 1987. [3] MOTTEAU J, Gobelets et verres à boire XVe-XVIIe siècles, Recherches sur Tours, volume 1, 1981.[4] FOY D., La verrerie du midi méditerranéen, A travers le verre, Rouen, 1989. [5] GUILHOT J.O., MUNIER C., Besançon, rue de Vignier, verreries des XIVe-XVIe siècles, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 149 – 172. [6] CABART H., Fouilles de trois fossés des XVIe et XVII siècles, rue Saint Dominique à Châlon-sur Marne, Mémoire de la société d’Agriculture, Commerce, Science et Arts du département de la Marne, 1984. [7] BARRERA J, Le verre à boire des fouilles de la cour Napoléon du Louvre, Annales du XIe Congrès de L’AIHV, Bâle, 1988. [8] BOURGER I., CABART H., La céramique et le verre de deux ensembles clos des XIVe et XVIe siècles à Metz (Moselle), Revue archéologique de l’Est et du centre Est, 1990, p. 105- 140.[9] GUBELLINI L., BONIFACE F., Céramique et verrerie en milieu hospitalier au XVIe siècle : l’hospice Gantois à Lille, Revue du Nord, n° 348, 2002, p.145-176. [10] BARRERA J., Archéologie de la ville, Orléans, Revue archéologique du Loiret, n°13, 1987. [11] MOTTEAU J., Gobelets et verres à boire XVe-XVIIe siècles, Recherches sur Tours, volume 1, 1981. [12] BARRELET J., La verrerie en France de l’époque gallo-romaine à nos jours, Paris, 1953. [13] MUNIER C., Poligny, lycée Friant, verrerie des XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 211 – 222.

2- Hemmed stem glass and hollow stem with bulge - forme XVI.A1.c

These drinking glasses consist of a single parison: the foot and the leg are formed by repression and form a hollow stem. Stems can be smooth or have one or more buds. They can also be decorated with crushed bulges which then form a kind of ring. On all the feet, we find the trace of the pontil. These glasses are dated to the 16th century and were used during the first half of the 17th century in France. Copies can be found in Tours[1], Epinal[2], La Charité-sur-Loire[3]. This dating can be used for the specimens found at the Château de l'Herm. Variants exist: leg with ovoid blown button (bulb or baluster shape), leg with several buttons, from two to four.

The general shape of a type of this glass could be partially reconstructed thanks to the leg found complete as well as part of the upper edge of the container. It is the only glass on the site to be decorated with nets of white glass added in the form of cords, at the level of the foot and the upper edge. The hollow stem is formed by two bulges. The foot is not hemmed and has the trace of the pontil below. The container appears to be hemispherical. The glass is very oxidized and it is impossible to determine the color. Decoration with nets of white glass was common in the 15th century and it is occasionally found in the 16th century as in Lille[4] or Paris[5].

[1] MOTTEAU J.,… Recherches sur Tours, volume 1, Tours, 1981. [2] BERTIER M., Le verre,in BUR Michel, Le château d’Epinal XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Paris, 2002, p. 257-273. [3] MAURICE B., Verre à boule, Vitrum, le verre en Bourgogne, Autun, 1990. [4] GEMEL D., La verrerie, vaisselle et nourriture du XVIe siècle à Lille, Revue archéologique de Picardie, n° 12, 1986, p. 129-134. [5] CABART H., Découvertes récentes, une fosse de la Renaissance à Paris IVe, Mémorial Juif, Bulletin de l’Association Française pour l’Archéologie du verre, 2002-2003, p. 7-10.

3- Hemmed stemware and hollow stem without bulge - forme XVI.AI.b

Next to drinking glasses whose stem has at least one button, there are stems without a bulge. The glass used is colorless with a yellowish tinge except for the leg of two copies where the glass is greenish. These legs have a consolidation operculum which can also be the trace of recovery by the pontil. For this type of glass the cut is very flared.

4- Straight stem glasses and ribbed stem - forme XVI.A2.b

Eight fragments of this type of object were found on site. The button is obtained by blowing in a mold which has ribs. This button is then welded using an amolisse[1] to a foot with a straight edge which has the trace of the pontil below. Similarly, the container was welded to the ribbed button using an amolisse. The container of these glasses is hemispherical or conical. The glass used is colorless with sometimes a yellowish, greenish or grayish tint. The glass is often iridescent and very weathered.

This type of glassware dates from the first half of the 17th century for the region of Tours[2], but it is present in Champagne and Lorraine[3] as well as in Paris[4] and in Lot et Garonne[5 ] from the end of the 16th century. Recent discoveries have brought to light the remains of a 16th century glass factory in the Aisne (Follemprise glass factory) which manufactured glasses with this kind of decoration and the glass used was green[6]. At the Château de l'Herm, these objects date from the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.

[1] Une amolisse est une petite paraison intermédiaire en verre plein qui permet de souder et de renforcer les parties d’une verrerie (Je remercie Allain Guillot, verrier à Boisse en Dordogne et meilleur ouvrier de France en 2004, pour l’aide apportée dans la définition de termes techniques). [2] MOTTEAU J., … Recherches sur Tours, volume 1, Tours, 1981. [3] CABART H., La verrerie de Champagne et de Lorraine, A travers le verre, du Moyen Age à la Renaissance, Rouen, 1989. [4] BARRERA, J., Le verre à boire des fouilles de la Cour Napoléon du Louvre, Amsterdam, 1990. [5] PONS J., La commanderie du Temple…, 1996. [6] PALAUDE S., DEGOUSSE P., A la découverte de Follemprise, verrerie thiérachienne de la fin du XVIe siècle, Bulletin de l’Association Française pour l’Archéologie du Verre, 2002-2003, p. 46-50.

5- Full stem glasses - forme XVII.A3

This type of rod is decorated with moldings, the number of which is variable. Of the fourteen fragments of solid stems that were found, some have a molding, others two or even three. Cups can be hemispherical, wide and deep conical in shape. The glass used is usually bluish transparent and has a strong iridescence. The solid leg was a feature of 14th century legged glasses in Western Europe. After a disappearance of more than a century, it reappeared during the last quarter of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th century. This type of glass was used in the 17th century in the region of Tours[1], in Haute Savoie[2] and in Metz[3]. At the Château de l'Herm, it is possible to say that this type of glassware dates from the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.

[1] MOTTEAU J., Recherches sur Tours, Tours, volume 1, 1981. [2] FOY D., La vaisselle de verre dans le château et la seigneurie du Vuache, Haute-Savoie, Documents d’Archéologie en Rhône-Alpes, n°6, Lyon, 1992, p.109-126. [3] CABART H., Metz, espace Serpenoise, verrerie des XIV-XVIIe siècles, dans Verrerie de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIIe siècles, fabrication, consommation, Revue archéologique de l’Est et du centre-est, neuvième supplément, 1990, p. 223-240.

6-Lion muzzle glass - forme XVI.A2.d

Only one such glass was found. It is made up of a parison blown in a mold representing two lion muzzles, interspersed with two other floral motifs. The trace of the joint is visible, there is a slight gap between the two parts of the mould. The upper and lower parts of the shaft are composed of 14 vertical ribs and the foot reported to the right edge is spread out in a disc. The central part was welded to the foot and to the container thanks to full glass amolisses. The container has a semi-hemispherical shape. The glass is colorless, slightly greyish. This kind of glass dates from the end of the 16th century to the 17th century. It is present in the east of France[1]. This type of glass is even very common on the site of a former cabaret in Montbéliard where the 121 legs collected come from 22 different types of moulds[2]. This type of glass was also found during excavations at the Louvre, Cour Napoléon (type 16)[3], in Lyon[4] and in Tours[5]. It is present in Belgium in Brussels[6]. They were also made in Venice in the middle of the 16th century[7] and in the 17th century[8]. At the Château de l'Herm, this cast leg was found in the debris from the second floor latrine conduit. This fragment of glass is perfectly dated because it is inserted between two coins: one dates from 1618 the other from 1619.

7- Serpentine leg - forme XVII.A2.e

Only one such glass has been found and it is archaeologically complete. He was discovered in the latrines. This “Venice style” glass is of exceptional quality. The leg is made up of three parisons. On the foot with the straight edge and in the shape of a disc is welded an amolisse on which rests the rod. This is made up of a grooved and twisted hollow tube which rolls up to form a ring at first. The spirally wound tube then wraps around the top of the ring and ends in a pliers-worked tab on the front of the glass. The height of the glass is 14.2 cm. Its cut, connected to the rest by an amolisse, is conical and the thickness of the container is very thin (0.5 mm). There are two traces of pontil: one under the foot and one at the bottom of the container. The cut is slightly offset from the axis of the glass. The glass is colorless, slightly yellowish. This glass can be compared to those found during the excavations of the Louvre, Cour Napoléon (type 17) and made with a fluted hollow tube and glass cords, but they have a different profile[9]. It is the same for those found rue du Vieux-Marché-Aux-Grains in Brussels[10]. The one found in Tours is colorless with a twisted leg surrounded by a hollow tube with fine spiral ribs surmounted by a flattened tongue. But it also has blue glass decorations[11]. Other glasses resembling the one found at the Château de l'Herm, are made using the same method and have two glass fins worked with pliers, on either side of the leg[12]. The one that most resembles that of the Herm castle is a glass that is in the Boymans-van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam: it has a conical container, a serpentine stem and a foot in the shape of a flat disc. It is dated to the first half of the 17th century. This dating can be retained for that of the castle of Herm because found in the conduit of the second floor of the latrines and therefore prior to 1619.

[1] JANNIN F., L’artisanat du verre en Argonne. L’atelier de « Pologne », commune de Chatrices (51), XVIe-XVIIe siècles, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 123- 138. [2] GOETZ B., Montbéliard-cabaret de l’hôtel de ville : verrerie du premier quart du XVIIe siècle, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 187 – 210. [3] BARRERA J., Le verre à boire des fouilles de la cour Napoléon du Louvre (Paris), Annales du 11ème congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Amsterdam, 1990. [4] AUGER M., Lyon, verrerie des XVe-XVIIe siècles, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 277 – 294. [5] MOTTEAU J., Gobelets et verres à boire XVe-XVIIe siècles, Recherches sur Tours, Tours, 1981. [6] FONTAINE C., Verrerie vénitienne ou façon de Venise des XVIe et XVIIe siècles à Bruxelles : témoignage archéologique, Majolica and Glass from Italy to Antwerp and Beyond, Antwerpen, 2002 ; Institut royal du patrimoine artistique, Bulletin n° 29, Bruxelles, 2003. [7] BELLANGER J., Histoire du verre, l’aube des Temps Modernes, 1453-1672, Paris, 2006. [8] BAROVIER MENTASTI R., Mille anni di arte del vetro a Venezia, Venezia, 1982. [9] BARRERA J., Le verre à boire des fouilles de la cour Napoléon du Louvre (Paris), Annales du 11ème congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Bâle, 1988. [10] FONTAINE C., La verrerie dans les anciens Pays-Bas : bilan des trouvailles archéologiques à Bruxelles, XIVe-XVIIe siècles, Annales du 16ème congrès, Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Londres, 2003. [11] MOTTEAU J., Gobelets et verres à boire XVe-XVIIe siècles, Recherches sur Tours, volume 1, Tours, 1981. [12] CABART H., Metz, espace Serpenoise, verrerie des XIVe-XVIIe siècles, Verre de l’Est de la France, XIIIe-XVIIe siècles, fabrication-consommation, Dijon, 1990, p. 22

8- Decorations of drinking glass containers

Molded or added decorations are present on 54 shards. 43 shards belong to containers blown into a mould. The most frequent decoration consists of vertical ribs. These ribs are frequent on tumblers from the 15th century and are also found on stemmed glasses with a bent base from the 16th century in the region of Tours[1], Orléans[2] and Vuache[3] or those discovered in Bordeaux, place Gambetta. The reported decorations are less numerous. It can be a simple thread of glass or a more complex work that we find on 14 shards that seem to belong to the same glass. It is a pattern of ribs added and then joined together with pliers in certain places. The pattern thus obtained forms a kind of diamond-shaped figures. This decoration is obtained by the technique called “Nipt diamond-waies”[7]. This type of motif is present on a 15th century goblet found in Avignon[8] and on 16th century stemmed glasses found in Tours[9].

[1]MOTTEAU J., Le verre post-médiéval, Recherches sur Tours, volume 4, 1985. [2] BARRERA J., Archéologie de la ville d’Orléans, Revue archéologique du Loiret, 1987. [3]FOY D., La vaisselle de verre dans le château et la seigneurie du Vuache, Haute-Savoie, Documents d’Archéologie en Rhône-Alpes, n°6, Lyon, 1992, p.109-126. [7] FOY D., Le verre médiéval et son artisanat en France méditerranéenne, Paris, 1988. [8] FOY D., n° 258, A travers le verre…Rouen, 1989. [9] MOTEAU J., Verreries post-médiévales, Recherches sur Tours, volume 4, 1985.