Anonymous: Joke Glass (17th century)

 

(Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA)

A glass made by an unknown German or Dutch artist. This glass (called a "Scherzgefäss" or "joke glass") was designed to be as difficult as possible to drink from. The purpose of the glass was to amuse the onlookers at the expense of the imbiber: in drinking competitions, the drinker had to guess how to drink from the vessel; if any liquor was spilled, he was required to start again with a full glass. Glass from early 17th century.