"Jumbo"/Elephant pattern cruet stand with three bottles
1883–5
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
23.5 × 13 cm (9 1/4 × 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
vessel for serving food
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
148098
Art Historical Context
Created by the Canton Glass Company between 1883 and 1885, this charming cruet stand features the “Jumbo” or Elephant pattern, a playful design that captures the popular fascination with exotic animals in late-nineteenth-century America. Standing just over nine inches tall, the clear glass piece holds three small bottles, its molded elephant motifs lending a whimsical touch to what was once an everyday dining-table accessory for condiments and oils. The timing of the pattern is no coincidence. Jumbo, the famed African elephant exhibited by P. T. Barnum, arrived in the United States in 1882 an...