Punch Glass
ca. 1883–88
Medium
Blown glass
Dimensions
H. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); Diam. 2 15/16 in. (7.5 cm)
Classification
Punch glass
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, 1946
Accession Number
46.140.535
Art Historical Context
This elegant punch glass, crafted by the New England Glass Company around 1883–1888, exemplifies the refined American glassmaking tradition of the late nineteenth century. Standing just over three inches tall, its compact form was designed for serving punch, a popular social beverage of the era. The blown-glass technique highlights the skilled artisans who shaped molten material into delicate, functional vessels with graceful proportions. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, the piece reflects the growing sophistication of domestic glassware during America’s Gilded Age. I...
About the Artist
New England Glass Company · 1818–1888
**The New England Glass Company: Pioneers of American Flint Glass** The New England Glass Company was established on February 16, 1818, in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, by a quartet of prominent local businessmen: Amos Binney, Edmund Munroe, Daniel Hastings, and Deming Jarves. Jarves, drawing on his dry goods background and talent for recruiting Europe's finest cutters, served as operational man...