Boat Salt Dish

Label

The production of pressed glass is considered one of the most important American contributions to the history of glass. Developed in the mid-1820s, the technique involved shaping and decorating glass in molds in conjunction with lever-operated presses, which allowed for the standardization of forms and increased output at lower costs. Glass pressing facilitated the production of sharply delineated patterns in complex shapes, as evidenced by this charming boat salt dish. Commemorating the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette, who had toured the nation in 1824, it takes the shape of a side-wheeled steamboat embossed “LAFAYET” [sic].

From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art

Artists from different nations and backgrounds made the small boats and other artworks in this case. Before cars, trains, and planes, boats connected the world. These objects reflect the global movement of peoples and trade between Indigenous and Colonial nations.

White protestant and catholic missionaries sailed around the globe attempting to convert Indigenous peoples to western religions. The upright (and uptight) missionary figures appear stiff and unmoving, perhaps reflecting the maker’s opinion that colonizing missionaries failed to fully appreciate the complexity of Haida culture.

The necklaces are made from dentalium, a narrow white seashell harvested by Indigenous peoples along the western coast of North America. Indigenous Americans traded dentalium across the continent, exchanging it for turquoise from the Southwest or dyes and hides from other regions. Dentalium’s movement reflects a history of complex international trade between Indigenous Nations that predates the arrival of European colonizers.

From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Vessels commemorating Revolutionary figures and scenes became popular in the century following the American Revolution. Some were marketed to middle-class homes, like the blue boat salt dish commemorating the farewell tour of military officer Marquis de Lafayette, the mug with sixteen states of the United States, or the pitcher featuring political portraits, patriotic symbols, and quotes promoting “equity to ALL mankind” even though nearly one million people were enslaved when this object was made. Others were intended for special occasions, like the century vase designed to commemorate the nation’s one hundredth anniversary. It features historical scenes relating to the country’s founding, portraits of Washington, and buffalo-head handles. These scenes promote equal partnership between the US and Native nations but diminish the consequences of militarized expansion and land dispossession. No object can tell a full history, but artists choose who and what to promote or leave out. When we reflect on the treatment of Indigenous and Black people during this time, what are alternative ways we could understand the celebratory scenes of the century vase or the pitcher’s promises of peace and justice?

From the 2025-26 exhibition Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, curated by Michael W. Hartman (Jonathan Little Cohen Curator of American Art), Haely Chang (Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art), Elizabeth Rice Mattison (Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art), Ashley B. Offill (Curator of Collections), and Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow)

Course History

First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Art History 40.01, American Art and Identity, Mary Coffey, Fall 2023

Creative Writing 10.02, Writing and Reading Fiction, Katherine Crouch, Fall 2023

Geography 11.01, Qualitative Methods, Emma Colven, Fall 2023

Geography 2.01, Introduction to Human Geography, Coleen Fox, Fall 2023

Geography 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Fall 2023

English 30.01, African and African American Studies 34.01, Early Black American LIterature, Michael Chaney, Winter 2024

Writing 5.06, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

Writing 5.07, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

College Course 26.01, What's in Your Toolbox?, Francine A'Ness and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2024

German 1.01, Introductory German, Meryem Deniz, Fall 2024

Philosophy 23.01, Art and Aesthetics, John Kulvicki, Fall 2024

Exhibition History

American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 9-December 9, 2007.

American Art, Colonial to Modern, Israel Sack Gallery and Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-September 12, 2021.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 2, 2009-present.

Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-November 24, 2024.

Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, Harteveldt Family Gallery and Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 18, 2025 - August 8, 2026.

Publication History

Barbara J. MacAdam, American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Muesum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2007, p. 206, no. 181.

Provenance

The New Bedford Museum of Glass, New Bedford, Massachusetts; sold to present collection, 2006.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

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