Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
“Gothic Arch” Covered Sugar Bowl
1839-1849
Scroll
Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
“Gothic Arch” Covered Sugar Bowl
1839-1849
Physical Qualities
Glass, Overall (Sugar bowl with lid): 5 1/4 × 5 3/4 × 5 3/4 in. (13.3 × 14.6 × 14.6 cm.)
Other (Bowl): 3 1/2 × 5 3/4 × 5 3/4 in. (8.9 × 14.6 × 14.6 cm.)
Other (Cover): 4 1/8 × 4 1/8 × 2 in. (10.5 × 10.5 × 5.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Decorative Arts Purchase Fund
Object Number
2006.47
Diamond, striped, and dotted window arches decorate the basin and lid of this glass sugar bowl. Most pressed glass from this period was colorless, relying on lacy patterns to produce sparkle, but the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company produced this sugar bowl in electric blue, lime green, and other eye-catching colors, a modern tribute to colorful windows of European cathedrals.
While the decoration imitates European stainedglass windows from approximately 1200 CE, the pattern and process are 1820s American inventions. To create the repeating design, hot glass is poured into the mold of a pressed glass machine, which quickly produces multiple identical objects. This innovation led to a massive increase in glass export from the United States in the mid-19th century.
Publication References
Feld, Elizabeth and Stuart P. "In Pointed Style The Gothic Revival in America, 1800-1860," Hirschl & Adler Galleries, NY, April 15-June 9, 2006, no. 54B, pp. 106-107.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 2006; Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York by purchase; Richard A. Bourne Company, Inc., Hyannis, Massachusetts
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Lee, Ruth Webb. "Sandwich Glass," [self-published] 1947, ill. p. 405, pl. 158
McKearin, George S. and Helen. "American Glass," Crown Publishers, 1948, p. 363, pl. 163
Barret, Richard Carter. "A Collector's Handbook of Blown and Pressed American Glass," Bennington, Vermont: 1971, pl. 12 bottom row no. 1 ill.
Howe, Katherine S. and Warren, David B. "The Gothic Revival Style in America, 1830-1870," exhib catalog, Houston, Texas, 1976, p. 67 no. 130 ill.
Spillman, Jane Shadel. "American and European Pressed Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass," Corning, New York, 1981, p. 248 nos. 972-977, as "New England, about 1840-1860"
catalogue, sale, Richard A. Bourne Company, Inc., Hyannis, Massachusetts, May 5-6, 1987, "The Elscholz Collection of Early American Glass, Sessions III & IV, p. 307 no. 1137 ill.
McKearin, George S. and Helen. "American Glass," Crown Publishers, 1948, p. 363, pl. 163
Barret, Richard Carter. "A Collector's Handbook of Blown and Pressed American Glass," Bennington, Vermont: 1971, pl. 12 bottom row no. 1 ill.
Howe, Katherine S. and Warren, David B. "The Gothic Revival Style in America, 1830-1870," exhib catalog, Houston, Texas, 1976, p. 67 no. 130 ill.
Spillman, Jane Shadel. "American and European Pressed Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass," Corning, New York, 1981, p. 248 nos. 972-977, as "New England, about 1840-1860"
catalogue, sale, Richard A. Bourne Company, Inc., Hyannis, Massachusetts, May 5-6, 1987, "The Elscholz Collection of Early American Glass, Sessions III & IV, p. 307 no. 1137 ill.
Inscribed: Inscription on base: "5820" in black Sticker reads "The Levine Collection" Sticker reads "FAPG 19390D"