beaker

Each year from 1918 to 1928, the Leerdam glass factory issued a limited edition of commemorative goblets, known in Dutch as jaarbekers. The goblets were designed by artists who worked for the design-conscious company at the time. In 1925 and 1926, the honour fell to the architect H.P. Berlage, who had previously made dinner services for Leerdam.
The commemorative goblet for 1926 was made from pale purple crystal to a mathematically formulated design. The drawings Berlage made for the project are now at the Netherlands Architecture Institute. They record the design process and show how he achieved the symmetrical form. The heptagonal foot narrows as it rises into the stem, before gradually flaring to form the bowl; the rim is cut with seventy vertical facets—the number undoubtedly alluding to Berlage’s age that year. In spite of its rigorously geometric design, the goblet is more elegant than its robust, colourless crystal predecessor of 1925.