Lacy pressed glass from Sandwich
Early American pressed glass with a dense, sparkling pattern that hides flaws in the moulding.
The glassworks at Sandwich, Massachusetts, was founded in 1825 and was among the first to press glass on a large scale. Lacy glass made fine patterns cheap for ordinary homes. Examples are in the Sandwich Glass Museum and the Metropolitan Museum.
Materials: Lead glass, usually colourless, sometimes coloured
Manufacture: The batch was pressed with a plunger into an iron mould; the dense stippling hid wrinkles in the surface.
The lace-like pattern of tiny dots that makes the glass sparkle.
The mould seams and smooth inside where the plunger pressed.