vase
Object NameVase
Maker
William Leighton
(American, 1808-1891)
Manufacturer
New England Glass Company
(1818-1878)
Made FromLead Glass, Gilding
Dateabout 1848-1858
TechniqueBlown, cut, gilded
SizeOverall H: 43.9 cm; Rim Diam: 14.8 cm
Accession Number93.4.9
Curatorial Area(s)
Exhibitions
Splitting the Rainbow: Cut Glass in Color
The Fragile Art: Extraordinary Objects from The Corning Museum of Glass
Interpretive NotesAppearances can be deceiving. This cut and gilded vase blown from four layers of glass - colorless, red, green, and opaque white - is very Bohemian in appearance. However, it was made by William Leighton at the New England Glass Company between 1848 and about 1858. Leighton, son of the factory’s manager, was a very skillful blower and a self-taught glass chemist. About 1848, he developed a formula for ruby glass. Before that time, ruby glass was imported from Europe in the form of ingots and remelted for use in the United States. Because the vase is elaborately decorated, it was probably made for display, possibly at the 1853 New York world’s fair, where the New England glassworks had an extensive display. The Corning Museum of Glass acquired the vase from one of Leighton’s descendants.
United States, MA, East Cambridge
Provenance
Provenance information not currently available online. Please check back in the coming weeks.
probably 1850-1900
1300-1399
1-50