Covered Mug c. 1936

This rendering of a Covered Mug was created by Philip Johnson, though we don’t know precisely when. Johnson applied graphite and watercolor to paper, evoking the object’s potential material: glass. Note the bands that encircle the vessel, which would likely have been achieved through a mold, or the patient addition of molten trails of glass. These techniques are particularly associated with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of mass production. Yet a mug of this complexity and refinement would have required a highly skilled maker. The handle too, carefully modeled and applied, speaks to handcraft. As does the finial on top of the lid, which is delicately spiraled. So this is an image that sits astride the worlds of hand-making and industry. Looking closely at the materials and making of such an image allows us to appreciate how design mediates between these two ways of creating the world around us.