1975/01/01 by Heino Maedebach, Maedebach, Heino
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #660 #Art History and Market Analysis #Central European and Russian historical studies #Medieval European History and Architecture
paper · doi:10.34657/17135
openalex publication_date 1975/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/03/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
The glass collection owes its existence to the keen interest of members of the ducal house of Coburg. Richly cut show pieces and glasses of the ducal court, especially from the 18th century, form the basis of the art and antiquities collection at the castle. A European significance was first achieved by the Coburg glass collection through the foundation of the Duke Alfred collection in 1901. Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha collected with much expertise Venetian glass, including "façon de Venise" as well as German enamelled glass. Today the collection has four main features: the singularly extensive collection of 650 pieces of Venetian and "façon de Venise" glass (15th to 18th century), about 230 examples of German enamelled glass (16th to 18th century), around 350 baroque glasses with cut decoration and European glass of the 20th century including about 400 items. In addition there is a rich collection of 19th century and „Art Nouveau" glass together with some priceless individual pieces such as the Hedwig glass (Islamic, 10th to 11th century). There are also about 250 important glass paintings, especially heraldic and cabinet pieces from the 16th to 20th century. The Coburg glass collection still includes, in spite of war losses, more than 3500 pieces and is to be counted amongst the most important glass collections in Europe.