Sauce Dish 1870 - 1890

This glass sauce dish was crafted by Adams and Company, its surface adorned with an array of delicate, raised circles. These orbs evoke a sense of abundance, like grapes clustered on a vine, symbols of fertility in classical art. Consider the 'Nymph of the Source' by Lucas Cranach the Elder, where similar round forms suggest life-giving waters. But here, in this simple dish, they are abstracted, democratized for everyday use. The circle motif echoes across millennia: from ancient Mycenaean jewelry to Renaissance paintings. Like ripples in a pond, this symbol reflects the ebb and flow of cultural memory, engaging with our subconscious understanding of form and purpose. We feel its wholeness, its promise of continuity. As you turn the dish in your hands, consider the way symbols transcend their original contexts, becoming ingrained in our collective consciousness, resurfacing, evolving, and finding new life.