Cup plate
c. 1835
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
83017
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of the Americas collection, this delicate cup plate from around 1835 exemplifies early 19th-century American ingenuity in glassmaking. Measuring just 3 inches in diameter, this pressed glass dish was designed to sit beneath teacups, safeguarding tabletops from heat and spills during the tea-drinking rituals that defined middle-class social life. Pressed glass, a revolutionary technique patented in the 1820s, allowed for the mass production of intricate, affordable decorative objects. Molten glass was forced into metal molds under pressure, creati...