Salt

Art Historical Context

In the bustling glass factories of early 19th-century America, the Boston & Sandwich Glass pioneered pressed glass techniques that transformed everyday objects into affordable luxuries. This delicate "Salt" cellar, crafted between 1830 and 1840, exemplifies their mastery. Measuring just 1 1/2 x 2 5/8 x 3 3/4 inches, it's petite tableware essential—designed to hold salt for seasoning at the dinner table—adorned with the intricate geometric patterns typical of the period's molded designs. Pressed glass, invented around 1825, revolutionized American manufacturing by allowing molds to press molten glass into complex shapes quickly and precisely, bypassing costly hand-blowing. The Boston & Sandwich factory on Cape Cod was a leader in this innovation, producing thousands of such pieces that brought elegance to middle-class homes. No longer reserved for the elite, these salt cellars symbolized the era's industrial optimism and growing consumer culture. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this gift from Mrs. Charles W. Green honors American ingenuity. Visitors can appreciate how such unassuming objects reflect a nation's shift toward mass-produced beauty, bridging art and daily life in the young republic.

About the Artist

Boston & Sandwich Glass Company · 1825–1888

The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, a pioneering force in American glassmaking, was established in 1825 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, by visionary entrepreneur Deming Jarves, who had honed his expertise as an agent for the New England Glass Company in Cambridge. Jarves built the factory on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal, incorporating it formally the following year with Boston investors. Drawing o...