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Jelly glass

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Jelly glass
Professional Photography
Professional Photography
Status
Not on view
Label Text

In May 1759, just a few months after the Washingtons' wedding, George Washington wrote to the London firm of Robert Cary & Company requesting a host of tablewares, including "1 Fashionable Sett of Dessert Glasses, and Stands for Sweet Meats Jellys &ca." This cut-glass example may have been one of the "2 doz. Jelly glasses" he received in August. The hollow-cut diamonds ornamenting the body represented the latest advance in English glass cutting. Filled with clear or colored jelly and set around a pyramid of glass salvers, this jelly glass was one element in a stunning table display.

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Datec. 1759
Retailer (English, 1693 - 1775)
Geography Made - England
Medium/TechniqueGlass
DimensionsOverall: 4 9/16 in. x 2 3/4 in. x 2 3/4 in. (11.58 cm x 6.99 cm x 6.99 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, 1957
Object numberW-2116
DescriptionJelly glass with trumpet bowl, flattened knop, and octagonal, facet cut foot; scalloped cut edge; bowl is ornamented with hollow cut diamonds.
Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 50-51.


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