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In this showcase you can see rock crystal work from Breisgau, a region in southern Germany. The towns of Freiburg and Waldkirch – both in the Breisgau region – were especially important as centres of rock crystal cutting in the sixteenth century.  The complicated art of gem-cutting was entrusted to the Fraternity of Drillers and Polishers. The drillers perforated the rock crystal; the polishers cut and polished it. Then the goldsmiths took over. They fitted the individual pieces of crystal together to form vessels, cutlery and other utensils, which they often enhanced with figurative or ornamental decoration.

Compared with Italian gem-cutting, these German items seem somewhat old-fashioned and clumsy. But the Freiburg artists were famous for their extremely precise cutting of facets.

The tall, covered goblet is a fine example of this. It consists of five polished sections of rock crystal, connected by silver-gilt rings. The mount was created by Hans Schweinberger II, who worked as a master goldsmith in Augsburg from 1579 onwards. It comprises etched and partly enamelled Moorish decor.

The smaller covered goblet combines a number of characteristics of the Freiburg style: the way the walls are cut in vertical facets; the shaping of the lid and foot in the form of hemispheres; and the acorn-shaped knob on the lid. The fragile construction gains stability from the three Y-shaped braces, which end in three-dimensional lions’ heads. This metal-work is inspired by Nuremburg and Augsburg examples, and was probably carried out by the Freiburg goldsmith Burkart Frauenfeldt.

Cutlery was also produced in large quantities in southern Germany. The delicate stems consist of small pieces of rock crystal threaded onto a metal pin. What precision and craftsmanship was required to drill holes into the hard, brittle material, without damaging it! Few people mastered the technique, and it was viewed as a professional secret. The rules of the Breisgau Fraternity of Drillers and Polishers, dated 1544, required craftsmen not to take their skills abroad.