Small drinking vessel
ca. 1855
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
Classification
Drinking vessel
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, by exchange, 2015
Accession Number
2015.459.4
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this *Small Drinking Vessel* from the Brooklyn Glass Company, circa 1855, exemplifies mid-19th-century American glassmaking ingenuity. Standing just 4 3/4 inches tall, this delicate glass piece was crafted during a booming era for U.S. industry, when factories like Brooklyn Flint—located in New York—rivaled European imports by producing clear, high-quality flint glass tableware for everyday use. Flint glass, made with lead oxide, lent the vessel its sparkling clarity and resonance, ideal for cutting and engraving techniques that ...