During the nineteenth century, American tables were set with increasingly specialized serving containers. Among them was the celery glass, a vase in which celery, an exotic and expensive vegetable, was served. It was presented much like a flower arrangement with the raw stalks placed vertically in cold water. The cut panel ornament seen on this example became popular at mid-century.

Related examples: A compote with similar paneled decoration (Innes 1976, p. 149, fig. 109); a mid-century paneled decanter (Innes 1976, p. 146, fig. 106); an eight-panel pressed glass celery glass at Winterthur (Palmer 1993, p. 276, no. 250).

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.