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Sugar bowl and cover
Boston and Sandwich Glass Company (1826–1888)
about 1830–50
Object Place: Sandwich, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/Technique
Pressed glass
Dimensions
13.97 x 13.97 x 13.97 cm (5 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Kenneth and Mary Jane Wakefield in memory of Ruth Graves Wakefield
Accession Number1979.716a-b
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsGlass
With their pointed-arch patterns and shaped edges, these glass tablewares reflect the popular craze for all things Gothic about 1825-1850. Pressed glass-in which molten glass was forced into a mold with a mechanical plunger-allowed intricate detail to be rendered in a variety of stylish patterns and colors. Unlike labor-intensive cut crystal, pressed glass could be made quickly, less expensively, and in large quantities.
DescriptionAmethyst colored glass with a gothic arch pattern. Bowl sits on circular foot and short pedestal. Body has flaring sides composed of eight panels of Gothic arches decorated with stippling, molding, diapering, or reeding. Similarly decorated octagonal lid is domed and topped by a hexagonal finial.