Decanter

Status

Not on view

Label Text

The invoices among George Washington's papers suggest he was frequently in need of new decanters to replace damaged ones and to offer a generous choice of beverages to his guests. Washington likely filled them with the imported wines he favored - madeira, claret, and port - as well as punch and cordials, beer, and domestically distilled liquors. His guests, serving themselves from decanters set about the dining table, no doubt admired their elegant cut and engraved decoration set off by the amber, gold, and crimson liquids within.

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Datec. 1755-1765

Geography Possibly made - England

Medium/TechniqueGlass

DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 in. x 4 1/8 in. x 4 1/8 in. (19.05 cm x 10.49 cm x 10.49 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1956

Object numberW-2109

DescriptionSugarloaf or mallet form decanter of nearly colorless glass with a yellow tint, broken at the neck; cut with diamonds around neck and flutes around base; a band of alternating wheel-engraved stars and cut circles (OXO) encircle the shoulder; body ornamented with four swags of alternating wheel-engraved stars and cut circles (OXO) terminating in floral bouquets and four drops composed of wheel engraved stars, leaves, stems, and petals and cut circles; pontil mark.

Published ReferencesWilliam Armstrong, "Some New Washington Relics. I. From the Collection of Mrs. B.W. Kennon," The Century Magazine 40/1 (May 1890): 22.

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