CultureAmerican
Datec. 1824–1825
Made inCoventry, Connecticut, United States
MediumNonlead glass
Dimensions7 3/8 × 4 1/8 × 2 5/8 in. (18.7 × 10.5 × 6.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.58.45
Current LocationBayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Kilroy Center
On view
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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. Another popular subject was the United States’ victory in the Mexican-American War (1846–48). This flask features a bust portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War hero who returned to the United States in 1824 for a grand tour in celebration of the country’s upcoming fiftieth anniversary. On the opposite side is a portrait bust of New York governor De Witt Clinton, the primary force behind the construction of the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825.
Provenance[Samuel H. Laidacker (1904–1994), Bristol, Pennsylvania]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1958; given to MFAH, by 1966.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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