Vigil Light
Medium
Pressed colorless and opalescent glass
Dimensions
H. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); Diam. 3 in. (7.6 cm)
Classification
Vigil light
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, 1946
Accession Number
46.140.395
Art Historical Context
This delicate Vigil Light, created around 1888 by the and Hartley Flint Glass Company exemplifies the ingenuity of late nineteenth American glassmaking. Standing just three and a half inches tall, the vessel was designed to hold single candle or oil, its soft glow intended quiet moments of reflection nighttime illumination. The combination clear and opales pressed glass creates a luminous milky effect when lit, the humble object into almost ethereal. Richards and, based in Pittsburgh, among the leading producers of pressed glass during America’s industrial expansion. Pressing molten glass int...
About the Artist
Richards and Hartley Flint Glass Co. · 1867–1890
**Richards & Hartley Flint Glass Co.** Nestled in the heart of Pittsburgh's thriving flint glass industry, Richards & Hartley Flint Glass Co. was established in 1865 as a partnership producing pressed tableware. Founded by Joseph Richards, William T. Hartley, and John Wilson, the firm leased property on Locust Street near Pride Street, capitalizing on the region's abundant natural gas and skilled...