This tray is a tour de force of American glass. Now popularly known as “lacy,” this glass is characterized by its intricately stippled background. While seemingly decorative, this treatment was intended to conceal the loss of brilliance that occurred during the manufacturing process. It is generally agreed that this form was the most intricate and most difficult to press because of the open handles and pierced rim. The process of pressing glass to produce this complex tray was an uncertain one. Often times the handles were incomplete due to the molten glass cooling before it filled the mold’s intricate recesses. Scholars attribute this design with the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company based on fragments which were uncovered during archaeological excavations at the factory site; however, it is entirely plausible that the form was produced at other glasshouses as well.

Related examples: Corning Museum of Glass, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.