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Jelly glass

Jelly glass
Glass
1790-1800
Jelly glass
Jelly glass
Glass
1790-1800
Jelly glass Glass 1790-1800
Status
Not on view
Label Text

Elite households in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries indulged in spectacular dessert courses dramatically set with mirrored plateaux, ceramic figurines, and real and artificial flowers. Sweet jellies - clear or colored confections flavored with spices and fruit - added a rainbow of colors to the well-appointed table, the cut decoration lavished on each glass further enhancing their presentation. The bellflowers and fluting on this example suggest the Washingtons probably acquired it as part of a larger set in the 1790s. It matches two others in Mount Vernon's collection, all with a history of ownership in the family of Martha Washington's youngest granddaughter, Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis Lewis.

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Date1790-1800
Geography Possibly made - EnglandPossibly made - Ireland
Medium/TechniqueGlass
DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 4 1/4 in. x 2 7/16 in. x 2 7/16 in. (10.8 cm x 6.2 cm x 6.19 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, 1950
Object numberW-1640
DescriptionColorless, blown jelly glass with conical bowl on an applied, plain, conical foot. Cut decoration consists of a scalloped or dentate rim; a single row of bellflowers opening to the right on the bowl just below the rim; and eight flutes around the base. Pontil mark not visible.

Published ReferencesThomas Birch's Sons, Sales Catalogue No. 657, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 -12 December 1890, Lot 99.
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
Jelly glass
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1790-1800
Jelly glass
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Professional Photography
1790-1800
Professional Photography
1790-1800
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