Celery Vase

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Celery Vase
Datec. 1830–1860
Made inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumLead glass
Dimensions9 5/8 × 6 1/8 in. diameter (24.4 × 15.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Jack McGregor
Object numberB.91.55
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Pine Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

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.


ProvenanceJack R. McGregor (1930–2000), Houston; given to MFAH, 1991.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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