Tumbler c. 1937

This rendering of a tumbler was made by Janet Riza, who lived between 1855 and 1995. What's really interesting here is the play between industrial production and handcraft. Glass tumblers like this one are typically made by machine, which gives them a crisp, uniform appearance. But here, we see a hand-drawn representation. Riza has carefully captured the glass’s subtle curves and the way the light plays across its surface. The texture is built up with delicate strokes, a labor-intensive process far removed from the tumbler's likely origins on a factory floor. Riza has imbued the object with a sense of care and attention, elevating it from a mass-produced commodity to something worthy of artistic consideration. It makes you wonder about the social and economic forces at play, and the value we place on different kinds of work.