Sugar bowl

New England Glass Company

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Glass, elaborately cut or engraved in a variety of patterns based on English Regency styles, was in vogue for fine tableware during the early nineteenth century. This elegant sugar bowl and its related cream pitcher reveal a sophisticated alternative to cutting: the manipulation of the clear, colorless glass in its molten state. The vessels combine multiple decorative techniques characteristic of three New England factories that were producing stylish wares during the 1820s and 1830s. The predominant feature is the tooled horizontal ribbing on a second gather, or applied layer, of glass, which was drawn upward into the ribs with a sharp tool to create a swag pattern. This striking ornamentation is repeated on the domed cover of the sugar bowl and again on the cover's finial. The bold, classic footed shapes and the rounded hollow stems are hallmarks of all three Massachusetts firms. Although lacking the refractive qualities of their cut-glass counterparts, the cream pitcher and sugar bowl are highly lustrous in their surfaces and sophisticated in their decorative techniques.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art