Hobnail Sauce Dish 1887 - 1896

This glass hobnail sauce dish was made by Hobbs, Brockunier and Company, during the late 19th century. The pattern covering its surface is known as hobnail, a series of raised, rounded knobs or bumps. Consider how this decorative motif echoes patterns found across millennia, from ancient Roman glass to medieval armor. These raised elements may have offered protection, but also presented an opportunity for decoration, altering light and shadow. The arrangement creates a tactile and visually stimulating pattern, one that invites touch and close inspection. The hobnail pattern, in its repetition, may also echo a deeper human desire for order amidst chaos. Like stars in the night sky, arranged in perceived patterns to give comfort, this glass dish offers its own sense of structure. In this object, we see a microcosm of human history: the practical merging with the aesthetic, and a reaching for order.