Hobnail Creamer
after 1886
Medium
Pressed cranberry and colorless glass
Dimensions
H. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
Classification
Cream pot
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, 1946
Accession Number
46.140.429
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this charming *Hobnail Creamer* exemplifies the ingenuity of late 19th-century American glassmaking. Crafted by Hobbs, Brockunier and after 1886, the petite vessel stands just 4 inches tall and features pressed cranberry and colorless glass. The vibrant cranberry hue—achieved by adding gold chloride to the molten glass—creates a rich, jewel-like red-purple glow, while the clear glass accents highlight its form. Its hobnail pattern, with rows of raised, rounded knobs mimicking the studs on Victorian boots, adds tactile elegance to this ...
About the Artist
Hobbs, Brockunier and Company · 1863–1891
**J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company**, a pioneering American glass manufacturer, traces its origins to 1845 when John L. Hobbs and James B. Barnes, both former supervisory employees at the prestigious New England Glass Company in Massachusetts, leased the idle South Wheeling Glass Works in what is now Wheeling, West Virginia. After several reorganizations amid partner changes—including the addit...