Hedwig glass

A number of the glasses were elaborated into reliquaries, or in one case a chalice, during the Middle Ages, with the addition of goldsmith's work, including those at Namur, Krakow and Halberstadt (see below).

Furthermore, all the beakers have engraved parallel lines cut into them, that work with the translucent nature of the glass to create patterns of shadow and light along the surfaces.

According to Ettinghausen and Grabar, writing in 1987, so far no examples of this type of glass have been found in the Near East: "all the preserved pieces come from the treasuries of Western churches and noble houses".

[12] The direct association of the beakers with the miracles of Saint Hedwig lead the glass series to be highly sought after, with almost all of them being immediately absorbed into monastic and cathedral treasuries.

[28] The relation of the beakers to the Patron Saint of Silesia led to a quasi-relic status of the series, with six out of ten glasses transformed into chalices, ostensories or reliquaries indicative of their high-status within medieval treasuries.

This elevated status led many to believe in their protective and healing abilities; the women of the House of Wettin regarded the beakers as an insurance of safe childbirth.

Scholars have reached no clear consensus beyond the fact that the glasses must have been made at a distinct cultural crossroads that allowed Christian and Islamic elements to converge.

Eugen von Czihak was the first to make the connection to Fatimid rock crystal hardstone carvings, suggesting the Hedwig glasses were made by Islamic glass- makers in Cairo and were brought to Europe during the Crusades.

Lierke argues that the vessels are of Sicilian origin, citing that the Christian city of Palermo housed many Islamic craftsmen who would have been trained to work with mould-blown glass.

Meanwhile, the samples from Egypt, Persia, and Syria contained distinctly higher MgO concentrations, indicating that the origins of the Hedwig glass are likely the Levant.