Hampton ZandGlas Cup (large size)

Maker Atelier NL (Dutch, founded 2007)

Artist Nadine Sterk (Dutch, born 1977)

Artist Lonny van Ryswyck (Dutch, born 1978)

Date2022

MediumMold-blown glass

Dimensions2 3/4 × 4 in. (7 × 10.2 cm)

ClassificationsGlass

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds gifted by the Docent Council

Object number2022.32.2

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis large cup is part of a four-part, blown glass tableware set of transparent and faintly bubbly glass with a naturally turquoise-aqua hue. The glass was melted using beach sand from Fort Monroe National Monument, Hampton, Virginia (collected by Terry E. Brown, Former Superintendent of Fort Monroe, on March 3, 2020; Atelier NL sand archive sample identification number: Hampton-US-0035).
The complete set includes a carafe and three drinking vessels in a range of sizes. Each object was blown separately into a two-part wooden block mold; the vessels display the Atelier NL’s signature design profile, with gently tapering walls and a raking angle near the base of the vessel.
Superintendent Brown shares the sand's significance: “It took me a while to embrace the beauty of Fort Monroe. Enslaved Africans were brought here in 1619. They were also freed here 242 years later. Since all have benefited from the cultural exchanges and free labor, the enslaved deserve to be remembered and to have their stories told. This sand captures the beauty and tragedy of this space.”