Pitcher

The Aesthetic movement of the late nineteenth century laid the groundwork for the emergence of an "art glass" production in much the same way that it provided the stimulus for "art pottery." By the early 1880s the emphasis on glassmaking in both England and the United States shifted from manipulated effects to experiments with color and texture, as characterized by this pitcher and six tumblers, made of what was called "Pomona" glass. Pomona was a type of Art Glass developed by Joseph Locke (1846-1936), an Englishman working at the New England Glass Company, and for which he received two patents, one in 1885 and the other in 1886, for a variation on the first. The patents were each for different acid-etching processes that would yield a soft-textured frosted surface. This pitcher and tumblers, probably marketed as a Lemonade Set, were further embellished with cobalt oxide for the stylized floral motifs, and a slightly amber color achieved by the use of silver stain.