The form of this goblet, or roemer, originated in a region centered on the Rhine valley. It evolved from the primitive conical glass drinking vessels of the Dark Ages and the cylindrical beakers, decorated with applied blobs of glass (popularly known as "cabbage stem" glasses), of the mid-fifteenth century. The use of a diamond point for engraving on glass was probably a Venetian invention, brought to northern Europe by Italian immigrant glassmakers in the sixteenth century. The resulting blend of Italian technique and northern glassmaking style is embodied in this diamond-engraved roemer.

Diamond-point engraving became a specialty in the Netherlands; indeed, it was often practiced there by amateurs as an elegant pastime. Glasses were engraved mostly for presentation, often to commemorate an event or to express fraternal and patriotic sentiments. As such they are unique and are often dated or signed. Seven glasses signed by the Rotterdam diamond-point engraver Willem Mooleyser, and dated between 1682 and 1697, are known, some with figurative designs--scenes of revelry and the like--but the majority with commemorative subjects. On the basis of these, about twenty unsigned pieces have also been attributed to him. The Museum's signed glass, which is missing its foot, celebrates the union of Great Britain and the Netherlands during the reign of Mary II (1662 - 1694) and her husband, William III, Prince of Orange (1650 - 1702), whose arms are engraved on it with the arms and names of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the date 1693. Betty Elzea, from Guides to European Decorative Arts: Glass (1984), p. 22.