Is the faceted glass a symbol of Russia?

Whence came the faceted glass, for certain it is not known. On this account, there are several versions. According to one of them, this item of utensils began to be made in Russia even in the time of Peter the Great. Ostensibly the glassmaker Yefim Smolin from the glorious city of Vladimir presented the autocrat with his invention, assuring the emperor that the faceted glass does not beat. Alekseyitch, having sipped from the novelty of intoxicating (the glass was not empty), he took it from the stone floor, shouting at the same time: "I'll have a glass!". The glass container immediately flew into a thousand fragments. True, the king at the same time relented and did not punish the glass blower-deceiver. And later, the popular rumor changed the spirits of the tsar's phrase to another: "Sticking glasses".

According to another version, in which there are no such dramatic details, faceted glasses in the reign of Peter began to be produced in the city of Gus-Khrustalny. But whether the drunk emperor drank from them or not - the story is silent about that. There is only one certainty: in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a faceted glass did not leave its image. ANYWHERE! There is no it either in the pictures of artists, nor in descriptions of works of literature.

For the first time, the image of a faceted glass in the picture "Morning Still Life" (1918), belonging to the brush of the famous artist Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin (oh, what a magnificent surname, to fit the object depicted on the still life!) Was documented for the first time. However, in that faceted glass in the picture was tea.

What is a faceted glass is preferable to a round one? Well, firstly, it is really much stronger. Hence, not so wrong was the half-mythical Yefim Smolin, telling the king that the glass does not beat. Secondly, he is much less positioned to ride the table, being laid on his side. Supporters of the appearance of a faceted glass in Peter's time amicably appeal to this circumstance - they say that the tsar, known for his sea lions, could not pass by such an invention, which is very useful during pitching. But it is not known exactly whether it was in fact or somewhat differently.

Even if a faceted glass appeared in the last years of the Russian Empire, the novelty was creative interpretation during the years of Soviet power, becoming, perhaps, even an element of Russian folklore. About the holiday "Two hundred years a faceted glass", I hope everyone heard?

The classic Soviet faceted glass was released on September 11, 1943, when the release of this product with modern dimensions was arranged in Gus-Khrustalny. Glasses were issued with a different number of faces - from twelve to eighteen in increments of two. The exception is a seventeen-cup glass, but this is a rarity, since it is technologically easier to make glasses with an even number of faces.

This product has long been replicated both by the domestic industry and works of art (as an image, naturally). And yet - what he, a faceted glass? How many grammes (if more precisely, then not gram, of course, but milliliters) fit into this symbol of the era? Let's try to understand.

A faceted glass could have a different volume , but the classical could hold two hundred and fifty milliliters (if flush with the edges) and two hundred - if poured to the upper boundary of the faceted surface. Even the design of the masterpiece of the glass industry was made by Elena Mukhina, the famous sculptor, the author of The Worker and the Collective Farm Girl. In any case, this is a purely domestic invention. And, indisputably, the same symbol of Russia, as a nested doll, a balalaika and a bear. Issued it in incredible quantities. The army, healthcare and catering establishments - even if we take into account only these three large customers, it becomes clear that a faceted glass is truly a national dish.