Tumbler

Manufacturer Bakewell, Page and Bakewell (American, 1812 - 1827)

Place of OriginPittsburgh, PA

Dateabout 1825

DimensionsH: 10.0 cm (3 15/16 in.); Rim Diam: 7.2 cm (2 27/32 in.); Base Diam: 6.9 cm (2 23/32 in.)

MediumColorless glass; Blown and finished by tooling.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1959.53

Not on View

DescriptionCut with strawberry diamonds, fans, and flats in the Anglo-Irish style and engraved around the top with a rose vine. A sulphide bust believed to be that of George Clinton (1739-1812) is embedded in the base.

Label TextWith a portrait of New York governor De Witt Clinton encased within its base, this tumbler is an example of the technique of cameo-incrustation. Commonly known as sulphide glass, this type of ware developed from the taste for collecting small likenesses of famous persons. Sulphides were made by encasing ceramic images in glass so that they would remain fresh in appearance and safe from damage. Early in 1825 Bakewell, Page & Bakewell introduced its cameo-incrusted tumblers—what the company called “medallion” ware—to American glassmaking. They were prompted by a commission to produce a set of commemorative tumblers for the French hero of the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, who planned to visit Pittsburgh in May 1825 as part of his American tour. See also the “figured flask” with a portrait of Lafayette and of De Witt Clinton in this gallery.Published ReferencesRogers, Millard F., Jr., "American Glass: 1608-1940, " Toledo Museum News, vol. 4, no. 3, Summer 1961, pp. 51-70, repr. p. 68.

Rogers, Millard F., Jr., "The Story of American Glass," Toledo Museum News, vol. 9, no. 3, Autumn 1966, pp. 51-70; rev. and reprinted as a Toledo Museum handbook, repr. p. 62.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, Ohio, 1969, repr. p. 97.

Innes, Lowell, Pittsburgh Glass, 1791-1891: A History and Guide for Collectors, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1976, pp. 131-133.

Wilson, Kenneth M., American Glass, 1760-1930: The Toledo Museum of Art, New York: Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, [Lanham, Md.]: National Book Network [distributor], c1994; 2 v. (879 p.): ill. (some col.); p. 198, no. 190.

Palmer, Arlene, Artistry and Innovation in Pittsburgh Glass, 1808-1882; from Bakewell & Ensell to Bakewell, Pears & Co., Pittsburgh, Frick Art & Historical Center, 2005, p. 61, repr.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 133-134, repr. (col.) p. 133, (det.) p. 134.

Comparative ReferencesSee also McKearin, George S. and Helen McKearin, Two Hundred Years of American Blown Glass, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1950; rev. ed., 1966, repr. pl. 82, no. 2.