Kensington Glass Works
Figured Flask

Public Domain

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Images(2)

Maker Kensington Glass Works(American, c. 1818–1838)American, c. 1818–1838

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

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

GLASS

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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