Glass Bowl c. 1936

Curator: There’s a quiet, reflective mood evoked by this artwork. It almost feels like staring into a dream. Editor: Indeed. What we’re looking at is Ella Josephine Sterling’s “Glass Bowl,” dating back to around 1936. It's a beautiful watercolor rendering, surprisingly realistic in its detail, given the medium. Curator: It does possess a surprising realism, considering watercolor’s reputation for softness and fluidity. I love how she captured the textures – all those tiny geometric patterns etched into the glass…they feel almost tactile. Do you sense a touch of melancholia, a whisper of the past? Editor: Glass objects in art, especially bowls or vessels, have a rich history. They’re often stand-ins for the self, reflecting both inner emptiness and the potential for fullness. Consider the "vanitas" paintings of the 17th century, where glassware symbolized fragility and transience. Perhaps Sterling’s piece resonates with that, even subconsciously. Curator: That's fascinating! I suppose it speaks to our relationship with material objects, too. This isn’t just a drawing of any old glass bowl, is it? Its decorative detailing has a particular feel about it, what would that be saying do you think? Editor: Certainly. That specific cut-glass design speaks to a certain aspiration of the early 20th century—a reaching for elegance, an appreciation for handcrafted beauty in a rapidly industrializing world. There is the almost hypnotic, repeating diamond pattern all around its form… Curator: Repetition like that can definitely create a kind of mesmerizing effect. I notice also there’s a little doodle in the bottom right, it shows a little miniature of the bowl again! What could this extra touch signify, do you suppose? Editor: An echo, a reminder, or perhaps a whisper from her own making process – a record of the artist trying to catch her impressions. Or, going back to those reflections we discussed before, a sign of our perceptions echoing back towards our vision and sense of self. Curator: So it captures a specific cultural yearning, reflected in an enduring art form, memorialised via a material’s very delicate qualities. Fascinating… Editor: And it reminds us how objects, seemingly simple, can become vessels—pun intended—for complex emotions and ideas across time.