Glass in the Kabinettskriege Era

Various Glassware-mostly Prussian in Origin

Dear Readers,

Today I had the singular fortune to go to the Corning Glass Museum, in Corning, NY. While there were many wonderful pieces at the museum not related to Kabinettskriege era warfare, I managed to find to find a few pieces that might be of interest.

A glass bearing the arms of William VIII of Hessen-Kassel

The eighteenth century German section was very impressive. There was an entire section of glassware made in Silesia, the province which Frederick II captured during the War of Austrian Succession.

A commemorative glass celebrating Frederick II of Prussia

However, the most interesting piece- at least to me, was this:

A commemorative glass, recording the Prussian armies victory in, "The Battle of Busau"

Prussian infantry in three ranks

According to the plaque, this glass depicts, "the Battle of Busau,"  in 1742. Strangely- this battle never occurred. Busau, (or as it is currently known, Bouzov,) was a town in the province of Moravia. My first thought was that this might be a alternate name for the Battle of Chotuwitz, which was fought in 1742. However, upon closer inspection, something else appears to be in the offing.

As stated above, the town of Busau (Bouzov), was in the province of Moravia. While it was not the sight of a battle, it was the site of some activity during the war. The back of the cup reads, "Sejour agreable," or in English, "a pleasant stay." Finally, the town of Busau is only 32 km from the town of Olmütz, a major fortress, which fell to Field Marshall Schwerin and the Prussians on December 26th, 1741. From there, the Prussian corps with Schwerin went into winter quarters in the towns around Olmütz, including Busau. It appears, during the winter of 1742, these Prussians had, "a pleasant stay."

Thanks for Reading,

Alexander Burns