Mildner Glass

Mildner glass, late 18th-century glassware decorated by Johann Josef Mildner (1763–1808) in the Zwischengoldgläser (q.v.) technique of bonding gold-leaf engravings or etchings between two layers of glass, one of which fits precisely into the other. Mildner, who worked at the Gutenbrunn glasshouse in Austria, is best known for his gift tumblers featuring a medallion etched in gold or silver leaf, usually against a red ground. His motifs consisted of portraits, monograms, or coats of arms and, less often, of allegories or representations of saints. Occasionally, he scratched a poem onto the back of the medallion. Works signed between 1787 and 1808 are extant.