Egg Cup 1860 - 1870

This egg cup was made by the New England Glass Company sometime between 1818 and 1888. The colorless, transparent glass is deeply cut with a pattern of diamonds, circles, and geometric shapes that cover the surface. This creates a play of light and shadow, drawing the eye into an intricate, almost kaleidoscopic, visual experience. The structure of the egg cup itself—its elegant stem and flared lip—speaks to an era of industrial innovation. The complex cut-glass patterns of the vessel challenge conventional notions of function. Each precisely angled facet reflects and refracts light, transforming a humble object into a miniature spectacle of visual complexity. The Egg Cup invites us to consider how glass, through its very materiality, became a medium for exploring notions of transparency, reflection, and perception. The formal qualities of the glasswork are thus reflective of a wider cultural fascination with the interplay of light and the destabilization of established ideas about surface and depth.