Whiskey Tumbler
Unknown Artist
1850–60
Medium
Pressed glass
Dimensions
H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); Diam. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Classification
Whiskey tumbler
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, 1946
Accession Number
46.140.863
Art Historical Context
This petite whiskey tumbler, crafted from pressed glass around 1850–60, exemplifies the ingenuity of mid-19th-century American glassmaking. Standing just 2¼ inches tall with a 2⅜-inch diameter, its compact form was perfectly suited for everyday tavern use or home parlors, holding a modest pour of spirits. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing and gifted by Mrs. Emily Winthrop in 1946, it whispers of a time when glassware became accessible luxury for the growing middle class. Pressed glass, a revolutionary technique pioneered in the United States in the 1820s, allowed manufa...