Kensington Glass Works
Figured Flask

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Figured Flask
Datec. 1825
Made inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumNonlead glass
Dimensions6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.58.49
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Glazed Porch
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionAmerican glassmakers produced small, rounded, and flattened forms as pocket bottles or flasks in the 1700s. By the 1820s, mold-blown flasks with images on both sides grew in popularity. Many featured portraits of political or military leaders, patriotic emblems, and slogans, images of abundance or technological achievement, or decorative designs such as sunbursts and scrolls. One side of this flask features a combination of Masonic and agricultural imagery; the other side depicts the sailing ship Franklin with the motto “Free trade and sailors (sic) rights,” a slogan from the time of the War of 1812. The USS Franklin, built in 1815, was the first ship constructed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Provenance[Samuel H. Laidacker (1904–1994), Bristol, Pennsylvania]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1958; given to MFAH, by 1966.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
On side with ship: FREE TRADE AND SAILORS RIGHTS
On side with Masonic image: KENSINGTON GLASS WORKS PHILADELPHIA

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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