Tumbler

Overview Tumbler 1855–75 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 Nineteenth-century silvered glass, or mercury glass as collectors have called it, imitated objects made of silver. To make a silvered glass object a glass blower formed a double-walled vessel and filled it with a solution containing metallic silver which adhered to the walls of the object. Because the silver would discolor and deteriorate if exposed to air, silvered glass objects had to be sealed. The initials impressed in the seal on the base of this tumbler may be those of Henry Balen Walker of New York, who, on 14 December 1869, filed a patent for silvered glass. The decoration of this object is on the surface, in a pattern and color to suggest engraving. View more