This pattern is relatively common although this ungainly dish is very rare, probably because it was impractical. The lid is difficult to lift and may have been often dropped in use. Collectors call the pattern" Bleeding Heart", but its original name was Floral Ware and it was made only by King, Son & Company.

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Some of the most splendid glass vessels made in the Islamic world between the 12th and 14th centuries have elaborate gilded and enameled decoration. This fine example, which is 30.2 cm (117/8 in) high, was made in Egypt or Syria between about 1310 and 1330.


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In this allegorical scene, the French queen Marie Antoinette walks among classical ruins that represent the aristocratic regime toppled by the French Revolution. She is about to place a winged heart, symbolizing the nobility, on an altar, next to two flaming hearts that represent the clergy and the commonalty. These were the three political orders of the state.


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One recent acquisition of the Museum’s American glass collection is the World Butter dish, a pressed piece, made by O’Hara Glass Company of Pittsburgh about 1886-1888. This is a rare shape of which few examples are known, and the maker has not been previously identified. However, the Museum’s Rakow Library owns 3 catalogs of James B. Lyon’s O’Hara Glass Company, and one of them shows this butter dish and identifies it as the World Butter.

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The cup was found at Chavagnes-en-Paillers, eastern France, in 1848. It is decorated in relief with four pairs of gladiators, whose names appear below the rim. Spiculus is standing over his fallen opponent Columbus; Calamus and Holes are fighting; Petraites is fighting with Prudes, who has lost his shield and raises his hand in submission; Proculus has defeated Columbus and holds the victor’s palm frond.

Laura de Santillana is one of the most important European artists working in glass today. A deep connection to the natural world and the realm of the senses lies at the heart of her designs. Over the course of her career in glass, de Santillana has favored a sculptural approach to vessel making. She treats her vessels almost architecturally, developing strong profiles and defined interior spaces.

This inkwell is a presentation piece, made especially for an early mayor of the City of Corning, William W. Adams. It is square, with cutting on the base and on the lid, and engraving on all four sides. In actual use, it probably had an inner cup to hold the ink, in order to keep the inside surface clean.

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This spirited sea horse is a splendid example of a late 19th-century Venetian glassblower’s sculptural skill. With a few well-placed gestures, the craftsman captured the lively expression of this fantastic creature in glass. The sea horse has an elongated, hollow body that was blown of emerald green glass. Its head and its gracefully curling tail were tooled from the same bubble of glass.

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The beaker was blown and decorated with seven horizontal trails. The uppermost trail is straight. The other trails are zigzags, which together form a net surrounding the vessel. The beaker is intact and has no obvious weathering.

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