Creampot
Unknown Artist
Presented to Christian Dorflinger upon his retirement from the Long Island Flint Glass Works in 1863, this service (2006.90.1-4) is ornamented with meticulously chased scenes of the glassworks itself. The creampot features a vignette of a gaffer at his bench finishing a blown glass pitcher. The finials, cast in the form of glassblowers, also reference Dorflinger’s trade. Dorflinger was one of the most successful nineteenth-century American glassmakers, operating several factories in Brooklyn before his retirement. He later established a thriving glasshouse in White Mills, Pennsylvania. The Museum has two important glass items from Dorflinger's Brooklyn period: an 1859 presentation vase (1988.391.1) and an 1861 compote (1972.232.1) made for President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.
Credit: Friends of the American Wing Fund, 2006