Fine Russian crystal belongs to that noble category of applied art which includes fine porcelain, quality metalwork, fine painting and more.
Production of blown glass vessels, window glass and glass jewelry was mastered in the 11-13th centuries at Kiev. Moscow recorded her first glassworks around 1639, after which the center for Russian glassmaking shifted to St. Petersburg in the second decade of the 18th century.
Prince A.D. Menshikov owned two fine glasshouses as early as 1717. To keep up with fashions of the time, a new specialist craft was developed to produce portraits, emblems and monograms on crystal glass. Cutting houses sparked master engravers to go outside the ordinary to produce heraldic eagles, architectural landscapes, detailed portraits and allegorical compositions. Production was defined by the requests of the Imperial court. By 1800 there were over fifty glasshouses in Russia but most produced plain and simple objects for everyday use.
These beautiful crystal glasses and decanter are hand made in Russia, at the oldest and biggest glass factory, named Dyatkovsky Crystal. It was founded in 1790. Decanter is 10" high, glasses are 3" high.
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