New England Glass Company
Sugar Bowl

MakerEast Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1818–1888
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Sugar Bowl
Datec. 1827–1830
Made inCambridge, Massachusetts, United States
MediumLead glass
Dimensions5 1/4 × 4 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (13.3 × 12.4 × 9.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Jack R. McGregor Endowment
Object numberB.2011.11.A,.B
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Washington Hall
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionThe process of pressing glass was first mechanized in the United States between 1820 and 1830. Glassware was formed by placing a blob of molten glass in a metal mold and pressing it with a metal plunger to form the inside shape. Made by the New England Glass Company, this sugar bowl is a rare, early example of pressed glass. Early pressed glass like this is characterized by a thickness and heaviness that are attributable to the new process and the challenges of controlling production. Several shear marks are visible on this vessel. While it is not known by whom or when the machine press was invented, its development is generally credited to this glassworks. The method is considered the greatest advance in glassmaking technology since ancient Roman times and America’s major contribution to it.
ProvenanceDorothy-Lee Jones, East Baldwin, Maine; [W. M. Schwind, Jr. Antiques and Fine Art, Yarmouth, Maine]; purchased by MFAH, 2011. Add Family of Louis Vaupel?
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
various cataloguing marks on underside of body:
in white paint "96(?).3.102(?)"
in black paint "L88.GS.72"

on lid:
in white paint "96.3.40.b"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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