Frankish "Claw" Beaker, 400–600
Found in Bellenberg Voehringen, southern Germany
Glass
Technical Glossary
Found in Bellenberg Voehringen, southern Germany
Glass
7 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. (19.7 x 10.8 cm)
Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881 (81.10.189)
Though many of the most sophisticated techniques of Roman glassmaking had been lost by the fifth century, the Franks continued glass production and even developed a number of innovative forms. The most elaborate vessel type—and among the rarest—produced by the Franks is the claw beaker, distinctively decorated with dripping clawlike forms.
