Cup plate
1830–35
Medium
Pressed glass
Dimensions
Diam.: 7.6 cm (3 in.)
Classification
plate (general, dish)
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
82814
Art Historical Context
This delicate cup plate, crafted from pressed glass around 1830–35, exemplifies everyday elegance from early 19th-century America. just 3 inches in diameter, it served a practical purpose: protecting table linens from the hot bases of teacups or cups during meals, a common custom in middle-class households. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts the Americas department, this anonymous work highlights the democratization of decorative arts. Pressed glass, the innovative medium here, marked a turning point in American manufacturing. Developed in the 1820s, the technique involved forcing ...