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

"Happy Child" Cameo Vase

Artist Joseph Locke (American, 1846-1835)

Manufacturer Hodgetts, Richardson and Son (English, 1871-1882)

CultureEnglish

Date19th century

MediumBlown cased glass, etched, cameo-carved

DimensionsOverall: 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
Overall, Rim: 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm)
Base: 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)

InscribedIncised in white under child: "LJ" conjoined. For Joseph Locke.

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.4316

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 116-5, Case 35

DescriptionVase of cameo glass. Handled footed urn shaped vase. "Happy Child"; deep blue glass with an opaque white design of a happy child with a doll. White band at the rim and under each blue handle. White "doughnut" around the stem. Flaring dome foot. Matched pair. See GEER.70.2.

Label TextJoseph Locke English (1846-1936) Hodgetts, Richardson & Son Stourbridge, England Happy Child and Unhappy Child, ca. 1877-82 Blown cased glass, etched, cameo-carved Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.4316 and 71.4317, respectively The cameo figures of children on this pair of vases derive from pendant sculptures by the Belgian neoclassical sculptor Eugene Simmons. They were well-known in England as they had been shown at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851. The original sculptures were illustrated in numerous publications at that time including the Art Journal. The contrast of sadness and joy can also be seen in Thomas Crawford's companion sculptures, The Broken Tambourine and The Dancing Girl, on display across the hallway in the James H. Ricau Gallery of American Sculpture. Approved By: ERLExhibition History"Cameo Performances: Masterpieces of Cameo Glass from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA., June 29, 2008 - December 30, 2012. Published ReferencesCorning Catalogue, ENGLISH 19TH CENTURY CAMEO GLASS, 1963, pg. 22. Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, NEWSLETTER, Vol. 1, No. 5, July 1972, pg. 5, article, newsletter, and ill. Grover, ENGLISH CAMEO GLASS, p. 135 for illustration.