Catalogue no. BBG009
Glasses
Exhibit information
Glass style Goblet A stemmed glass with a broad bowl, traditionally associated with stronger Belgian beers, particularly Trappist and abbey ales.
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Explainers
Capacity 25cl
Manufactured 2024 Curator’s Notes At first glance, this is an elegant and relatively restrained glass: a rounded bowl on a long, simple stem, with little colour and apparently modest decoration. Look more closely, however, and the Duchesse begins to reveal herself. This is a glass with secrets.
The lettering on the front is finely embossed, while the Duchess motif itself is embossed on the reverse of the bowl, positioned so that it displays beautifully through the glass when empty. Her image appears again, moulded into the lower stem just above the foot. More discreet still is another Duchess hidden in the base of the glass — a finely etched detail that can easily remain undiscovered until the glass is examined from the right angle. The repeated imagery never feels excessive; there is an elegance and confidence to the design entirely befitting its subject.
There is a pleasing parallel between the glass and the beer it was designed to serve. The glass rewards curiosity, its apparent simplicity gradually giving way to carefully considered details and hidden images. Duchesse de Bourgogne offers a rather different kind of discovery. It invites — perhaps demands — considered reflection, revealing to the willing drinker something more complex and intriguing than a first impression might suggest. Glass and beer therefore share a quality without quite sharing the same experience: both reward attention, but it is the beer that has the capacity to surprise, challenge and ultimately change the mind.
This example was gifted to the collection during a visit to Ypres, alongside a number of glasses from Brouwerij Leroy and Kazematten. At the time, the collection contained only around twenty glasses and had yet to become a documented museum collection.
