The microscopic level of work required to assemble little bits of paper, straw, wood, moss, and lichen into tiny country scenes with a house, figures fishing, and a brook crossed by a bridge in between two layers of glass is truly a marvel. Most of the decoration was fastened to the inner wall before being covered with the outer wall of glass. Only thirteen double-walled beakers made by Vershinin, the talented serf and chief workmaster at the Bakhmetev Glassworks, are know. It was not unusual to find such highly trained serfs in Russia during the 1800s. They were often sent by their masters for training as artisans.

Museum Purchase, 2003

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