Hobnail Fruit Bowl 1887 - 1896

Editor: This is the "Hobnail Fruit Bowl," made sometime between 1887 and 1896 by Hobbs, Brockunier and Company. It’s glass, and all those little raised bumps make it look like…well, hobnails! What’s fascinating is that this elaborate piece was actually meant for everyday use. What jumps out at you? Curator: What interests me is understanding the social and economic conditions that allowed for the creation and consumption of an object like this. How accessible was something like this bowl to the average household at the time? We often overlook how glass-making, even then, was an industry driven by both skilled labor and industrialized processes. Editor: That's an interesting point. It's beautiful, but I hadn't considered its context in terms of labor. So, you're suggesting the bowl represents the intersection of industry and artistic craftsmanship? Curator: Precisely! The meticulous detailing, the hobnail pattern itself, speaks to a specific technology and level of production. The materials, where did they source the glass, what chemicals give it that hue? Those things matter as much as the design. It prompts us to think about who made it, in what conditions, and who ultimately purchased and used it. It wasn't "art" in the high art sense; it was a commodity. Editor: So, appreciating this fruit bowl involves thinking about its place in the larger network of 19th-century American manufacturing and consumer culture, rather than just aesthetic appeal? Curator: Absolutely. By focusing on its material properties and the forces behind its production, we understand it as part of a broader economic and social landscape. Editor: I’ll never look at a glass bowl the same way! It’s amazing how much a seemingly simple object can reveal about its time. Curator: Indeed! Looking closely at materials always opens a wider view.