bowl | Spencer Museum of Art

bowl, circa 1880–1887

Where object was made: Sandwich, Massachusetts, United States

Material/technique: flint glass; blown glass

Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 9.2 x 24.7 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 3 5/8 x 9 3/4 in

Credit line: Gift of Irma Lutz Ebnother in memory of her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Lutz

Accession number: 1979.0060

Not on display

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Archive Label date unknown:
Overshot or frosted glassware, as it was originally called, began as a technique used to mask imperfections in an inferior batch of glass. The rough texture, which could hide flaws, bubbles and sand in the glass, is produced by applying chips or particles of glass to a hot gather of glass. The gather was then reheated and blown, thus expanding the surface to create the “veining” effect seen in this bowl. Although the overshot technique was conceived as a camouflage method, frosted glassware became admired for its beauty and was produced as a standard part of the Boston and Sandwich line for over fifteen years.