Vase

Date 1878-1880

Mediumglass

Dimensions6 1/2 × 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (16.5 × 14 × 8.9 cm)

Donor credit lineODHS purchase, 2003

Object number2003.81

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionSicilian '"Lava" Raspberry glass vase in a shape influenced by Ancient Greek pottery. This is a rare raspberry pink Lava vase with two applied black handles; interspersed with aqua, gold, purple, white, and blue shapes. Sicilian glass was inspired by the discovery and excavations of the ancient cities of Troy (in 1871) and Mycenae (in 1874). Mount Washington's president at the time, Frederick S. Shirley, received a patent for the process of "an article of glassware made of lava and glass" in 1878.

Mt. Washington and its successor, the Pairpoint Corporation, were one of America’s longest-running luxury glass companies in operation from 1837 to 1957; for 87 of those 120 years they were located in New Bedford. Constantly reinventing and re-invigorating the business through creativity in texture, decoration, pattern, and color, the companies developed a variety of styles and decorating techniques which were so technically complex that few are practiced today. Mt. Washington and Pairpoint rivaled fine art glass manufacturers like Tiffany and Steuben in the late 1800s and early 1900s. ProvenanceDallas Auction Gallery; sold at public auction, 2003

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