Tobias and the Angel

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Object Name: 
Covered Tumbler
Title: 
Tobias and the Angel
Maker(s): 
Place Made: 
United States, MD, Frederick
Accession Number: 
55.4.37
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 30.1 cm; Rim Diam: 14.5 cm; (a) Tumbler H: 21.4 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1788
Web Description: 
One year after the American Revolution ended, John Frederick Amelung opened a large glasshouse in Maryland. Like Stiegel, Amelung remained in business for only 11 years, but in that time he invested more money in glassmaking than anyone in America before him. His factory turned out large quantities of table glass, much of which was engraved. Some of these pieces are signed and dated. One of them is this tumbler, which bears a scene from the Book of Tobit: an angel leads Tobias, the son of Tobit, on his journey to cure his father’s blindness. The inscription, “Happy is he who is blessed with Virtuous Children,” indicates that Amelung considered his life a happy one. Amelung made this goblet in 1788 for his wife, Carolina Lucia.

More Info

Department: 
Early Modern
Provenance: 
McKearin Antiques, Source
1955-11-12
Category: 
Early American
Color: 
gray
colorless
Technique: 
tooling
glassblowing
engraving
Material: 
glass
Inscription: 
Happy is he who is blessed with virtuous children. Carolina Lucia Amelung. 1788
inscription
: 
Engraved body

Description

Primary Description: 
Covered Tumbler, "Tobias and the Angel". Clear heavy glass with many minute bubbles in cover and with dark greyish-green tinge; wear marks at base; free blown, tooled and engraved; straight sided body slightly increasing in diameter towards rim, concave base with rough pontil mark; set-in cover with large baluster finial surmounted by a knop and with applied ring to hold cover on flip. On the body Tobias guided by the Angel framed by conventional leaf scrolls, three daisy-like flowers and small leaves, on the left of the Angel a dog, above the scene an inscription forming an arch: "Happy is he who is blessed with virtuous children. Carolina Lucia Amelung. 1788". On the front of the cover two floral scrolls flanking a daisy.

Exhibitions (4)

The Fragile Art: Extraordinary Objects from The Corning Museum of Glass
Venue(s)
Park Avenue Armory 2009-01-23 through 2009-02-01
The 55th Annual Winter Antiques Show
American Rococo: Eighteenth Century Elegance in Ornament
Venue(s)
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1992-01-29 through 1992-05-17
Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1992-07-02 through 1992-09-27
 
Glassmaking: America's First Industry
Venue(s)
Strong Museum 1990-04-17 through 1990-04-29
Independence Pursued: 17th and 18th c. American Glass: Amelung
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1976-05 through 1976-11
 

Publications (31)

Glass: A Short History (Smithsonian Books edition) (2012) illustrated, p. 90; BIB# 130360
Glass: A Short History (The British Museum edition) (2012) illustrated, p. 90, upper; BIB# 135965
Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses (Volume 3) (2012) pp. 85, 682; BIB# 61154
Collecting Earlier American Glass (2010-04) illustrated, p. 44; BIB# AI79439
Glassmaking, America's First Industry (2009-01) illustrated, p. 238, Fig. 2; BIB# AI77121
55th Winter Antiques Show, A Benefit for East Side House Settlement (2009) illustrated, pp. 144-145; BIB# 29139
John Frederick Amelung (2002) illustrated, p. 12, cover; BIB# 108003
The Corning Museum of Glass, A Guide to the Collections (2001) (2001) illustrated, p. 106; BIB# 68214
Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses (Volume 1) (1999) pp. 189, 250; BIB# 61154
Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses (Volume 2) (1999) p. 432; BIB# 61154
Treasures from The Corning Museum of Glass: Checklist of the Exhibition (1999) illustrated, p. 25; BIB# 63967
Franz Gondelach: Baroque Glass Engraving in Hesse (JGS) (1996) illustrated, p. 192, #70; BIB# AI3179
The Corning Museum of Glass and the Finger Lakes Region (1993) illustrated, p. 29, #44; BIB# 35681
The Art of Glass: Masterpieces from the Corning Museum (1992-06) illustrated, p. 55;
Panorama: Muzeinoe steklo (1992) illustrated, p. 55 (middle); BIB# AI99388
American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament (1992) p. 232, #167; BIB# 25683
Hikari no shouchu: sekai no garasu = The glass (1992) p. 156, #263; BIB# 58995
A Short History of Glass (1990 edition) (1990) illustrated, p.72-74, #62; BIB# 33211
Masterpieces of Glass: A World History From The Corning Museum of Glass (1990) illustrated, pp. 184-185, pl. 84; BIB# 33819
The History of Glass (1989 edition) (1989) illustrated, p. 158; BIB# 150278
Glas: Unterhaltsamer Streifzug durch Geschichte und Gegenwart eines faszinierende Stoffes (1988) p. 224; BIB# 33564
The History of Glass (1984 edition) (1984) illustrated, p. 158; BIB# 22683
Masterpieces from the Corning Museum of Glass: 24 Ready-to-Mail Full-Color Postcards (1984) illustrated, p. 3 (top left); BIB# 34354
A Short History of Glass (1980 edition) (1980) illustrated, p. 64, #60; BIB# 21161
Masterpieces of Glass: A World History from The Corning Museum of Glass (1980) pp. 184-185, pl. 84; BIB# 20953
John Frederick Amelung and the New Bremen Glassmanufactory (1976) illustrated, pp. 50-51, #2 fig. 21 A-C; BIB# AI6136
Glassmaking: America's First Industry (1976) illustrated, pp. 10-11, fig. 8; BIB# 28025
Glass from the Corning Museum of Glass: A Guide to the Collections (1974) (1974) illustrated, p. 87, #111; BIB# 28793
Glass from the Corning Museum of Glass: A Guide to the Collections (1965) (1965) illustrated, p. 83, #105; BIB# 27582
The Woman's Day Dictionary of American Glass (1961-08) illustrated, p. 20, bottom center; BIB# 98018
Glass from the Corning Museum of Glass: A Guide to the Collections (1958) (1958) illustrated, p. 81, #95; BIB# 27746