Mug 18th-19th century

Editor: Here we have an 18th- or 19th-century glass mug, residing at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The glass is so clear, so deceptively simple...but look closer at the patterning. What do you see in this humble object? Curator: Well, immediately I'm drawn to the ways the raised patterns transform this mug into something more than just a vessel. The daisy-like rosettes in particular echo motifs found across many cultures as symbols of warmth, provision, even divinity. Editor: Divinity in a mug? That's fascinating! Curator: Think about it: the simple act of drinking, repeated daily. How different cultures elevated food and drink into ritualistic performance! Does this unassuming mug evoke a certain homeyness, of everyday rituals observed over generations? What emotional traces can objects retain? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered the daisy design being more than just decorative, but that makes me think about how even mundane objects can connect us to broader ideas about community and the everyday. Curator: Exactly! These repeated motifs—the grids, the concentric circles of the floral pattern—can evoke security and order within the intimate domestic space, or even link it to the world outside. Do you suppose there’s a conversation embedded in its creation that time almost erases? Editor: I see what you mean. Thinking about its connection to history is fascinating; thanks to the images, now I’ll associate glass mugs with ritual, symbols, and visual traditions of connection. Curator: Indeed, we are linked through symbolic languages manifested in even the simplest forms, such as this drinking glass.