Figure Dish 1880 - 1890

McKee and Brothers created this "Figure Dish" out of pressed glass; its radiant whiteness immediately draws the eye. The composition is simple yet striking: a lamb rests serenely atop a textured, basket-like base. The milky glass gives a soft, almost ethereal quality to the piece. The choice of material is significant. Pressed glass, a relatively new technique at the time, allowed for mass production, democratizing access to decorative objects. The lamb, a symbol deeply embedded in cultural and religious narratives, takes on new meaning when rendered in this modern material. The texture of the glass is a semiotic signifier of a fleece coat. Consider the form itself: a functional dish transformed into a symbolic object. Is the object's meaning destabilized and challenged, or does it uphold traditional associations of purity and innocence? What this artwork achieves is how the aesthetic experience becomes intertwined with broader social and technological changes. This piece serves as a reminder that art continually reshapes our understanding.