Candlestick

Art Historical Context

This elegant candlestick, crafted by the Boston & Sandwich Glass around 1840, exemplifies the age of American pressed glass. Founded in 1825 on Cape Cod, the company became a leader in mass-producing decorative glassware, using innovative molding techniques that allowed for intricate patterns at affordable prices. Standing at 8½ inches tall, this piece from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing reflects the era's growing middle-class appetite for refined home furnishings. Pressed glass, the candlestick's medium, involved pouring molten glass into detailed iron molds under high pressure, capturing fine motifs like the playful dolphins adorning its surface. These marine-inspired designs evoke neoclassical tastes and America's seafaring heritage, blending whimsy with functionality for candlelit parlors. Such objects democratized luxury, transforming everyday items into artistic statements. A gift to the Met in 1946 from Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, this candlestick highlights the vibrant ingenuity of 19th-century American industry, where glassmakers rivaled European counterparts in creativity and scale.

About the Artist

Boston & Sandwich Glass Company · 1825–1888

The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, a pioneering force in American glassmaking, was established in 1825 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, by visionary entrepreneur Deming Jarves, who had honed his expertise as an agent for the New England Glass Company in Cambridge. Jarves built the factory on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal, incorporating it formally the following year with Boston investors. Drawing o...