Figured Flask
Manufacturer: Kensington Glass Works (American, 1816-1833)
Date: 1824-1830
Dimensions:
6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
Medium: glass
Place of Origin: Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1917.366
Label Text:The fashion for flasks bearing the likenesses of patriots and politicians was largely spawned by the celebrated tour of the United States that the Marquis de Lafayette made between 1824 and 1825. As a young French aristocrat, Lafayette (1757–1834) had fought in the American Revolutionary War alongside General George Washington. Fifty years later Lafayette received a hero’s welcome as he traveled across the nation over a period of 13 months. The resulting “Lafayette mania” was unprecedented in American consumerism and was arguably the beginning of the trade in souvenir and commemorative glassware that continues to this day. The flask also features De Witt Clinton, Governor of New York.
DescriptionAlmost colorless. Blown in a full-size two-part mold (McKearin G.I-91) that formed body and base. On the obverse: a three-quarter profile bust of the Marquis de Lafayette in uniform. On the reverse: an American eagle with rays above and grasping an oval cartouche in its talons. The base is plain except for a moldmark and a faint, rough, open pontil mark.
Capacity: one pint.
Capacity: one pint.
On view
In Collection(s)