Figural spill vase 1849

This figural spill vase, created by Lyman, Fenton & Co., presents a seemingly bucolic scene with its recumbent deer. But let's consider this object within its cultural moment. In the 19th century, the United States was undergoing rapid industrialization coupled with westward expansion, deeply impacting both the landscape and its indigenous inhabitants. As such, images of animals and untouched nature often functioned as sentimental symbols for a vanishing, idealized past. The deer, a common motif in American decorative arts, here becomes a poignant reminder of nature's fragility, made all the more significant by its crafted, ornamental form. Furthermore, spill vases like this were used to hold matches, a technology which facilitated the mass marketing of tobacco, and encouraged a culture of leisure and consumption. This vase, therefore, operates as a complex artifact, encapsulating both an aesthetic longing for a lost pastoral ideal and the realities of industrial America.