Water Goblet

Art Historical Context

Step into the elegant world of 19th-century American tableware with this delicate *Water Goblet* crafted by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company around 1867. Standing at just over 6½ inches tall with a 3½-inch diameter, this blown glass piece exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of one of America's leading glass manufacturers, active from the 1820s to the late 1880s in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Its presence in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing highlights the rising sophistication of U.S. decorative arts during the post-Civil War era. Blown glass, the goblet's medium, involves gathering molten glass on a blowpipe and shaping it through skillful inflation and tooling—a technique dating back centuries but perfected by American factories like Boston & Sandwich for everyday luxury. This method allowed for slender stems and flared bowls ideal for water service, blending functionality with subtle elegance suited to Victorian dining tables. As a product of industrial innovation, the goblet reflects America's growing glass industry, which rivaled European imports by emphasizing accessible beauty. Acquired through donor funds in 1967, it invites us to appreciate how ordinary objects embodied cultural aspiration and technical prowess in Gilded Age America.

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...