Flask 1833 - 1850

Curator: Ah, the “Flask,” produced sometime between 1833 and 1850 by the Bridgetown Glass Works. It resides here at the Met. Editor: It's such a ghostly, yet comforting green color. I get a palpable sense of history just from the way the light plays through it. What can you tell me about the subject, because the portrait almost melts into the whole. Curator: The flask showcases a molded portrait, likely of a prominent figure of the time. Portrait flasks became quite popular in the United States during the first half of the 19th century, reflecting the burgeoning national identity. Often they were designed as historical portraits, and the form clearly speaks to a Romantic aesthetic. Editor: I see that sense of burgeoning identity reflected. And I’m struck by how ordinary it appears and, and yet there is a national identity that one holds in the hand. So, was this purely celebratory? How would a flask of this sort function socially? Curator: Flasks such as these held alcohol, thus often symbolizing fellowship and perhaps clandestine meetings of patriotic citizens. Moreover, mass production enabled access for wide swathes of the population, democratizing portraiture in a new way. The portrait is stylized, archetypal. It creates an effect where you see what you want to see. Editor: That makes so much sense; the glass medium itself seems perfect for imbuing a romantic mystique to that image. It certainly creates that atmospheric remove while simultaneously feeling solid and everyday. It becomes this oddly patriotic item—like the physical vessel *of* national pride. Curator: It bridges the ideal and the accessible, something the Romantic style managed so well, a solid symbol made ethereal through glass. Thanks to that subtle portrait, this flask really embodies something greater than itself. Editor: Yes, and just look how a common glass piece can echo the broader political sentiments of its era. Amazing how objects become powerful historical witnesses.