| Object ID |
1976.25 |
| Object Name |
Vase |
| Dimensions |
H-17.5 inches |
| Early Date |
1885 |
| Late Date |
1886 |
| Made By |
Mt. Washington Glassworks |
| Description |
In the 1870s and 1880s, American glass manufacturers experimented with numerous formulas to satisfy a tremendous new demand for colorful glassware decorated in exotic styles. Burmese glass, patented by Frederick Shirley of the Mount Washington Glass Company in 1885, was one of the most popular and attractive of these new wares. It shades from a delicate salmon pink to pastel yellow, and the softness of the colors is further enhanced by the acid finish given to the glass before the application of enamelled ornamentation.
The Egyptian-style vase at The Bennington Museum is among the most spectacular pieces of Burmese glass known to exist. One of four or five surviving examples signed by the superintendent of the decorating department, Albert Steffin, it appears to be associated with the famous Burmese tea set presented to Queen Victoria in 1886. This set, which has since disappeared, inspired the firm of Thomas Webb and Sons to purchase Shirley's patent rights for the production of Burmese in England. It was described at length by the New Bedford Evening Standard in November of 1886. The set included "four vases, two of Egyptian and two of Etruscan pattern," and the reporter took care to note that "everything in the ornamentation is of original design by Mr. Albert Steffin." |
| Credit |
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Limric |
|
