jar

H. P. Sinclaire Jr. was the owner of another glass cutting firm in Corning. He got his start as bookkeeper for Thomas Hawkes, who taught him every facet of the business. Sinclaire did not share Hawkes’ enthusiasm for richly cut glass, and so he was encouraged to develop his interest in engraving. When Sinclaire later established his own company, he became known at once as the city’s engraving specialist. Among its most famous customers were the king of Bavaria, who desired a set of elaborately engraved goblets made from exceptionally thin blanks, and President Warren G. Harding, who purchased two table services for use in his private home in Marion, Ohio. This covered potpourri jar, which Sinclaire designed for his stepmother in 1926, displays engraving that represents the best work done at his firm. The shape of this object is reminiscent of a Chinese “ginger” jar.