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Vase (City Hall, New York)

Decorative Arts and Design

On rare occasions, the transfer-printing technique was used to decorate commemorative objects in glass, as in this extraordinary vase with an image of City Hall in New York. Designed by Joseph Mangin and John McComb, Jr., and opened in 1812, the building was considered one of the most impressive architectural landmarks in Federal-era Manhattan.
MAKER Unknown
MEDIUM Glass
  • Place Manufactured: Europe
  • DATES ca. 1840
    DIMENSIONS 9 3/16 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (23.3 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Unmarked
    SIGNATURE
    ACCESSION NUMBER 1995.195.1
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Wunsch Americana Foundation, Inc.
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Footed vase, Bohemian milk glass with gilt decoration. Historical transfer painting of City Hall, New York, in sepia camaieu on front; gilt script calligraphy on reverse. Baluster shape with scene on widest center section. Gilt line frames the illustration, encircles the top and highlights the shoulder. Gilt stylized leaf decoration on the neck. Condition: Very good original condition. Three chips to rim. Gilt worn, especially on rim, foot and frame of scene. Numerous flaws in surface due to manufacture.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Unknown. Vase (City Hall, New York), ca. 1840. Glass, 9 3/16 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (23.3 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wunsch Americana Foundation, Inc., 1995.195.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.195.1_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 1995.195.1_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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    Unknown. <em>Vase (City Hall, New York)</em>, ca. 1840. Glass, 9 3/16 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (23.3 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Wunsch Americana Foundation, Inc., 1995.195.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.195.1_bw.jpg)

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