New Bedford Museum of Glass
Encyclopedia
The New Bedford Museum of Glass, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts
, is home to a wide collection of glass ranging from ancient Mediterranean unguent bottles
to designs by contemporary artists such as Dale Chihuly
. It was first established in 1993 as the Glass Art Center at the former Bradford College in Haverhill, Massachusetts
. After the college closed, the Museum relocated to New Bedford in part due to the city's rich heritage of glassmaking. As a result, the Mount Washington Glass and Pairpoint Glass compose a large part of the Museum's collection. The Museum is located in one of the original buildings of the historic Wamsutta Textile Mills complex. The grand opening took place September 11, 2010.
, the New England Glass Company, Thomas Cains' Phoenix Glass Works of South Boston, Bakewell, Page and Bakewell of Pittsburgh and many other celebrated makers. Examples of New Bedford glass include Mount Washington's Amberina, Burmese
, Crown Milano, Lava Glass, Peach Blow, and Royal Flemish
art glass and Pairpoint engraved pieces. Contemporary artists include Dale Chihuly
, Edris Eckhardt, and Harvey Littleton. The Museum's collection of American political glass, featured in a special installation at the New Bedford City Hall, is the largest of its kind on public display, numbering more than 500 items. Popular permanent exhibits in the museum galleries include "Contemporary Paperweights: The Schimmelpfeng Collection" and "Atomic Green Vaseline: Uranium Glass in Everyday Life." Another important resource at the Museum is the Virginia Shaw Rockwell Research Library, which contains more than 6,000 publications on the subject of glass.
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, is home to a wide collection of glass ranging from ancient Mediterranean unguent bottles
Hellenistic Glass
Hellenistic glass was glass produced during the Hellenistic period, from the conquests of Alexander the Great to the expansion of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean, Europe, western Asia and northern Africa...
to designs by contemporary artists such as Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
. It was first established in 1993 as the Glass Art Center at the former Bradford College in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
. After the college closed, the Museum relocated to New Bedford in part due to the city's rich heritage of glassmaking. As a result, the Mount Washington Glass and Pairpoint Glass compose a large part of the Museum's collection. The Museum is located in one of the original buildings of the historic Wamsutta Textile Mills complex. The grand opening took place September 11, 2010.
Glassmaking in New Bedford
New Bedford was one of the world's most industrious cities during the 1800's due to its easily accessible harbor and the fortune generated by the whaling industry. As a result, the Mount Washington glass company relocated from Boston to New Bedford in 1870. In 1880, the Pairpoint Manufacturing company opened, absorbing Mount Washington in 1894. Pairpoint remained in operation as a glass manufacturer until 1938 when it went out of business. It opened up again briefly as the Gundersen-Pairpoint Glass Company before permanently shutting down in 1957.The Collection
The Museum's collection numbers more than 7,000 items. The earliest example of glass on display is a core-formed vessel of eastern Mediterranean origin dating from 600 BCE. European glass includes a diamond-engraved wine glass of about 1690, an English seal bottle dated 1785, a glass portrait medallion of about 1813 representing Arthur Wellesley, the First Duke of Wellington, by English artist John Henning, and numerous other examples. Early American glass is particularly well represented in the museum galleries. The collection includes outstanding examples by the The Boston and Sandwich Glass CompanyBoston and Sandwich Glass Company
The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company was incorporated in 1826 to hold the glass factory built a year earlier in Sandwich, Massachusetts, by Deming Jarves. The factory was closed in 1888 amid disputes with the newly formed glassmaker's labor union....
, the New England Glass Company, Thomas Cains' Phoenix Glass Works of South Boston, Bakewell, Page and Bakewell of Pittsburgh and many other celebrated makers. Examples of New Bedford glass include Mount Washington's Amberina, Burmese
Burmese glass
Burmese glass is a type of opaque colored art glass, shading from yellow to pink, found in either the rare original "shiny" finish or the more common "satin" finish. It is used for table glass and small, ornamental vases and dressing table articles....
, Crown Milano, Lava Glass, Peach Blow, and Royal Flemish
Royal flemish
Royal Flemish glass was a line of art glass made by the Mt. Washington Glass Works in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This line was designed to look like stained glass. The line was made during the late 1880s. The pieces normally feature a colored satin glass decorated with dark colors and raised gold...
art glass and Pairpoint engraved pieces. Contemporary artists include Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
, Edris Eckhardt, and Harvey Littleton. The Museum's collection of American political glass, featured in a special installation at the New Bedford City Hall, is the largest of its kind on public display, numbering more than 500 items. Popular permanent exhibits in the museum galleries include "Contemporary Paperweights: The Schimmelpfeng Collection" and "Atomic Green Vaseline: Uranium Glass in Everyday Life." Another important resource at the Museum is the Virginia Shaw Rockwell Research Library, which contains more than 6,000 publications on the subject of glass.