Glass Panel
1763–74
Medium
Free-blown glass
Dimensions
5 5/8 x 8 1/4 in. (14.3 x 21 cm)
Classification
Glass panel
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Frederick W. Hunter, 1913
Accession Number
13.223.3
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Glass Panel*, crafted at Stiegel's Elizabeth Furnace 1763 and 1774, exemplifies early American ingenuity in glassmaking. Produced during the colonial era, when the American colonies were striving for industrial independence from European imports, it hails from the workshop of Henry William Stiegel a pioneering German immigrant entrepreneur. His Elizabeth Furnace in Manheim, Pennsylvania, among the first to manufacture high-quality flint glass on U.S. soil, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's decorative arts. The panel's medium—free-blown glass—highlights masterful traditio...