Design for Glass and Silver Water Pitcher, with a Cover
1820–65
Medium
Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) on beige paper
Dimensions
sheet: 12 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (31.4 x 13.7 cm) sheet: 16 7/8 x 10 3/8 in. (42.9 x 26.4 cm) pasted down in a mat
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935
Accession Number
35.73.35
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Design for Glass and Silver Pitcher, with a* by George Richards Elkington (0–65) captures the elegance of Victorian-era luxury goods. Rendered in watercolor and gouache—known as bodycolor for its opaque, vibrant finish—on beige paper, the drawing showcases a functional yet ornate pitcher, blending clear glass with shimmering silver elements. Measuring about 12⅜ × 5⅜ inches on the sheet, it exemplifies precise ornamental drafting, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. Created during Britain's Industrial Revolution, when firms like Elkingt...