Colonial Vase

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Object Name: 
Colonial Vase
Accession Number: 
2010.4.83
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 23.4 cm, Diam (max): 19.1 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
1893-1895
Web Description: 
Mt. Washington produced Colonial ware for only a few years, at the end of the period during which Art Glass was popular. This opaque white glass with elaborate enameling was originally marketed as “Colonial” because all of the figures shown on the pieces were in 18th-century dress. The designs made for this ware expanded very quickly to include floral patterns as well as figures. Today, Colonial ware is rare. It was probably not particularly popular with consumers even around the turn of the 20th century because this type of heavily decorated glass was going out of fashion. The same is true of Napoli and Verona, transparent enameled glasses that Mt. Washington made at about the same time. The Mt. Washington Glass Company, which opened in New Bedford in 1869, made a variety of table wares, including, in its early years, pressed glass and lighting. However, Frederick S. Shirley, who had become the company’s agent by 1874, introduced several types of Art Glass in the 1880s. Most of these glasses, including Burmese and Peach Blow, were extremely popular for several years. In 1891, Shirley left the company and glassmaking, and he moved to Canada. The company continued to market both Art Glass and cut glass, but it began to lose money in the 1890s, probably because it did not react quickly enough to changes in taste. This may explain why it was taken over by the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company, a silver-plating firm that had been started by a group of investors in Mt. Washington. The company was renamed the Pairpoint Corporation in 1900. [261 words] For more on Colonial ware, see Kenneth M. Wilson and Jane Shadel Spillman, Mt. Washington and Pairpoint Glass, v. 2, Corning: The Corning Museum of Glass, 2011.
Department: 
Provenance: 
James D. Julia, Inc., Source
2010-06-30
Category: 
Material: 
Inscription: 
[red crown and Laurel mark]
stamp
Stamped base
Primary Description: 
Opaque white glass, enamel; blown, applied, enameled. Opaque white glass teardrop-shaped vase decorated with maroon and pink poppy decoration with green leaves and gold netting and scrolls; gold rim. Two applied gold thorn handles.
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2011-05-19 through 2011-12-31
Changing Exhibitions Gallery
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 2010 (2011) illustrated, p. 44; BIB# AI90243
The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2010 (2011) illustrated, p. 46, #30; BIB# AI86878
Treasures from the Corning Museum of Glass 2011 (2010-12) illustrated, p. 11;
Important Lamp & Glass Auction (2010) illustrated, p. 11, Lot 1005; BIB# 115439