Research Catalog

Title

In sparkling company : reflections on glass in the 18th-century British world / Christopher L. Maxwell, with contributions by Marvin Bolt, Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, Jennifer Y. Chuong, Melanie Doderer-Winkler, Anna Moran, Marcia Pointon, and Kerry Sinanan.

Author

Maxwell, Christopher

Publication

• Corning, New York : The Corning Museum of Glass, [2020]
• ©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Wight, Karol B.
• Bolt, Marvin, 1963-
• Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly
• Chuong, Jennifer Y.
• Doderer-Winkler, Melanie
• Moran, Anna
• Pointon, Marcia R.
• Sinanan, Kerry
• Corning Museum of Glass, issuing body, publisher, organizer, host institution.

Description

304 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color map, color portraits; 28 cm

Summary

• Britain in the 1700s was complex, dynamic, and full of growth, whether industrial, geographical, intellectual or societal. The nation began the century under the leadership of a Dutch king (William III, r. 1689-1702), followed by a dynasty of Germans (the Hanoverians, r.1714-1837). Its aristocracy was educated on European Grand Tours, and its commercial, political and territorial ambitions stretched from North America to India, and from Africa to China. It was a world that fostered exploration, expansion and exploitation.0The British glass industry replaced that of Venice as the global leader during this period but, beyond its presence in dining and drinking rituals, little discussion has hitherto been made of the significance of glass in the lives of the country?s elite during the 1700s.00In 'Sparkling Company: Reflections on Glass in the 18th-Century British World' accompanies a major exhibition at The Corning Museum of Glass in 2021. From portraiture to costume, and science to slavery, the essays contained in this publication offer unique perspectives from noted scholars on the role of glass in defining and expressing the cultural values of Britain during the 1700s. 00Exhibition: Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA (May 2021 - January 2022).
• "The 18th century was a period of expansion and change in Great Britain. A diversifying economy based on international trade, finance, and manufacture fosterd an elite who lives were defined by newly-prescribed codes of "polite" sociability. The British glass industry replaced that of Venice as the global leader during this period but, beyond its material presence and function in dining and drinking rituals, little discussion has hitherto been made of the significance of glass in elite 18th-century culture. The clear and bright lead glass perfected by the British was more than simply functional: it embodied the polished, modern values of the age. Technical developments in other realms of glass production, such as plate glass, transformed the urban environment with larger, clearer windows, while mirrors evolved from small portable accessories to permanent architectural fixtures within the performative social spaces of the domestic interior. As paste "stones" glittered on the clothing of the elite, small, carefully-designed beads were an important part of European trade with Africa. British ships returning from Africa carried cargoes of gold, ivory, and slaves. Enslaved Africans were taken to British plantations in the West Indies, where they labored to meet an increasing demand for sugar. The fashion for sweetened confectionary, in turn, inspired new designs in sparkling glass tableware. In Sparking Company: Reflections on Glass in the 18th-Century British World accompanies a major exhibition at The Corning Museum of Glass in 2020. From portraiture to costume, and science to slavery, the essays contained in this publication offer unique perspectives from noted scholars on the role of lgass in defining and expressing the cultural values of 18th-century Britain."--

Alternative Title

Reflections on glass in the 18th-century British world

Subjects

• Crystal glass
• Glassware
• Exhibition catalogs
• 1700-1799
• Great Britain
• Glassware > Great Britain > 18th century > Exhibitions
• Crystal glass > Great Britain > 18th century > Exhibitions
• Crystal glass > Social aspects > Great Britain > 18th century > Exhibitions
• Glassware > Social aspects > Great Britain > 18th century > Exhibitions

Genre/Form

• exhibition catalogs.
• Illustrated works
• Essays
• Exhibition catalogs
• Exhibition catalogs.
• Essays.
• Illustrated works.
• Catalogues d'exposition.
• Ouvrages illustrés.

Note

• "This publication accompanies the exhibition 'In Sparkling Company : Glass and Social Life in Britain during the 1700s,' held at The Corning Museum of Glass from May 9, 2020-January 3, 2021"--Title page verso.
• The exhibition was rescheduled to be held at The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York from May 7, 2021 to January 9, 2022.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Director's foreword / Karol B. Wight -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction / Christopher L. Maxwell -- People in glass houses: the polished and the polite in Georgian Britain / Christopher L. Maxwell -- Slavery and glass: tropes of "race" and reflection / Kerry Sinanan -- Glass in 18th-century British portraiture / Marcia Pointon -- The British scientific glass enlightenment during the long 18th century / Marvin Bolt -- The glass of fashion / Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell -- "The eye as well as the appetite must be car'd for": glass and dining in Ireland, about 1680-about 1830 / Anna Moran -- L'officier sableur: sand painters as decorators of the 18th century dining table / Melanie Doderer-Winkler -- "A gloss equal to glass": the material brilliance of early American furniture / Jennifer Y. Chuong.

ISBN

• 9780872902237
• 0872902234

LCCN

2019952856

OCLC

• on1182536514
• 1182536514
• SCSB-9705453

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library