New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

George Washington Medallion Tumbler

Manufacturer Bakewell, Page, & Bakewell (American, 1808-1882)

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1825-30

MediumBlown glass | Cut glass | Flint glass | Sulphide

DimensionsOverall: 3 1/8 x 2 7/8 in. (7.9 x 7.3 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number96.5.2

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 117, Study Gallery Case 3, Section 2 Sh2

DescriptionThe tumbler is of blown and cut flint glass with a sulphide inclusion of George Washington bust facing left. It is cylindrical in form with a thick bottom that has been polished, the lower third is cut with thriteen flutes, the middle third has a band of strawberry diamonds (two diamonds high) set off with horizontal "V" cuts, the top third is plain except for short blaze cuts that appear immediately above the band of strawberry diamonds.

Label TextBakewell, Page, & Bakewell Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania George Washington Medallion Tumbler, ca. 1825-1830 Blown, cut, and flint glass, with sulphide inclusion Museum Purchase 96.5.2 Cut flint (lead-formula) glasses encasing sulphide portraits were probably the first American glass objects made with images of George Washington, and they were by far the most luxurious. The makers, Bakewell, Page, & Bakewell, were arguably the preeminent manufacturers of flint glass in America during the period immediately after the War of 1812. Bakewell had the distinction of being the first American firm to supply the White House with cut glass tableware in 1818, and did so again in 1829. The profile image of Washington in uniform in the bottom of this tumbler is believed to have been modeled by the Philadelphia medallist, Christian Gobrecht (1785-1844). He was undoubtedly inspired by a similar profile found in a number of late 18th-century oval prints that copy a 1790 drypoint by the American artist, Joseph Wright (1756-1796). The majority of the surviving Washington sulphides occur in tumblers similar to this one, but at least one decanter, a plaque, and two different glass mantle ornaments are known.Exhibition History"Treasures for the Community: _The Chrysler Collects_, 1989-1996," October 25,1996 - March 2, 1997 "First in the Hearts of His Countrymen: America Remembers George Washington 1732-1799," Chrysler Museum of Art, Nov. 23, 1999 - Summer 2001.