vase

Frederick Carder never admitted that he admired cut glass. He would say only that “when well designed, cut glass has a brilliancy like no other material except the diamond.” He had designed cut glass patterns during his early employment in England, and the popularity of cut glass in America prompted him to establish a cutting shop at Steuben. Responding to popular demand, he sometimes produced pieces that were “cut all over” and “painful to pick up.” Most of the cut objects created in Steuben’s early years are among the best such works of their time. This shower vase was an elegant centerpiece in the home. Steuben’s records indicate that it originally sold for five dollars, and that a similar shape was made with hanging baskets as well as trumpets. Such shapes would have been familiar to Carder even before he left England, but cut flower stands are rare in English glass.