Figured Flask
Manufacturer: Coventry Glass Works (American, 1813-1850)
Date: 1824-1830
Dimensions:
7 7/16 in. (18.9 cm)
Medium: glass
Place of Origin: Coventry, Connecticut, United States
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1917.399
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 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 DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, who initiated the building of the Erie Canal.
DescriptionOlive-amber glass. Blown in a full-size two-part mold (McKearin G.I-80) that formed body and base and the horizontal ribs on the sides. On the obverse: a profile bust of the Marquis de Lafayette in civilian dress. On the reverse: a profile bust of De Witt Clinton, governor of New York, in civilian dress. The base is plain except for a moldmark and a rough pontil mark.
Capacity: one pint.
Capacity: one pint.
Not on view
In Collection(s)