Dish

Unknown Artist

1830–50

Dish by Unknown Artist

Medium

Lacy pressed glass

Dimensions

Diam. 5 9/16 in. (14.1 cm)

Classification

Dish

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Gift of Mrs. F. N. Crosby, 1948

Accession Number

48.123

Art Historical Context

This delicate dish, crafted from lacy pressed glass around 0–50, exemplifies ingenuity of early American glass. Measuring just 59/16 inches (.1 cm) in, its intricate, lace-like patterns—achieved through a pressing technique—created an affordable yet elegant alternative to expensive cut glass. Popular in middle-class homes, these pieces brought refined beauty to everyday tabletops, reflecting the era's growing industrial prowess. Produced during a boom in American manufacturing, lacy pressed glass emerged from New England factories, where semi-automated presses allowed for mass production of f...

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