Bottle
Artist unknown
1835–45
Medium
Pattern-molded blown glass
Dimensions
15.9 × 14 × 14 cm (6 1/4 × 5 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
bottle
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
72753
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
By the late-eighteenth century, American glass blowers had developed the technique of pattern molding. Using this method, the gaffer (the individual who blows the glass) collects a portion, or gather, of molten glass on the blowpipe. The glass is then pushed into a fluted or ridged mold, removed from the mold, and then blown. In this way, the molded decorative ridges expand and can be twisted, as shown in this bottle. Pattern molding was the most common method of glass decoration in the United S...