Ice Bowl
Maker
Unknown Maker
(American (probably New York))
Dateca. 1870
MediumSterling silver
Dimensions9 1/2 × 6 3/4 × 7 1/2 in. (24.1 × 17.1 × 19.1 cm)
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
Credit LineGift of the Decorative Arts Trust
Object number2011.5
CommentaryThe use of ice for cooling drinks was introduced to America in the mid-19th century; it was a luxury at which European visitors marveled. This bowl is among the most distinctive and fantastic vessels created to serve this fashionable and expensive commodity. The piece was created a few years after the United States purchased the territory of Alaska. The acquisition of this new land of glaciers, polar bears, and icebergs doubtlessly inspired the bowl’s fanciful form.
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