Cream Jug
Manufacturer
Sowerby & Co.
(English)
CultureEnglish
Dateca. 1875
MediumPressed glass
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/8 x 3 1/2 in. (7.9 x 8.9 cm)
InscribedInscriped with British diamond-shape Design Registry mark for 17 December 1875.
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Edwin C. Kellam
Object number94.22
Not on view
DescriptionThis cream jug, in excellent condition, was probably made to match a "Sweetmeat (Rope Handle)" made by Sowerby in 1875. It is made of pressed jet (dark purple appearing black) glass, in a squat form with a stippled body, rope handle and a decorative rope ring on each side, reeded rim, and three lion's paw feet.Label TextGLASS FOR THE MASSES A great revolution in glassmaking technology occurred in the mid-nineteenth century: the machine press. First developed in America in the late 1820s, it was quickly adopted by the British glass industry. Machine presses required less-skilled laborers and allowed for greater productivity in the factory. Thus, glassware became less expensive for the growing consumer market. Even a middle-class home in the mid-nineteenth century could afford a complete table setting of pressed glass in a matching pattern. Pressed glass often imitated more expensive cut glass, but increasingly featured more fashionable styles or cutting-edge colors for a highly decorative effect. Sowerby & Co. Gateshead-on-Tyne, England Cream Jug, ca. 1875-95 Pattern registered 17 December 1875 Pressed glass Gift of Mrs. Edwin C. Kellam 94.22 Exhibition History"Cheers to Queen Victoria: British Glass from the Chrysler Collection," Waitzer Community Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 22, 2010 - March 20, 2011.
