Flute

The drinking flute with the regnal numbers of Augustus III was made in Saxony in the first half of the 18th c. Saxon products did not turn up in the Łańcut Castle's eighteenth-century glass collection accidentally. During the period of the personal union between Saxony and Poland, Saxony supplied Polish glassworks with specialists and treated Poland as an export destination for its products. Saxon glass was also purchased by the Polish magnates during their frequent trips to Dresden. The above drinking flute was made of thick, clear glass. The glass has a large, round foot with a curled edge, a two-part bulging baluster stem (hollow), and a slender, conical bowl. The base of the bowl is cut in a pattern of lanceted, contoured facets. The front of the bowl is decorated with a carved Baroque cartouche with the monogram AR3 (Augustus Rex III) beneath a royal crown, framed with olive branches. Barbara Trojnar