ITEM 9886. "LOUIS KOSSUTH"
/ BUST OF KOSSUTH - FRIGATE / "U. S. STEAM FRIGATE / MISSISSIPPI
- P H DOLFIN / MOULD MAKER / NTH 5. ST 84" (ON BASE), (McK#
GI-112), brilliant aquamarine, calabash, pontil scar, quart,
crudely applied sloping collar, an attic quality example with
a tiny disturbance in the cover glass of a surface bubble. American,
C. 1851, scarce.
This beautifully rendered and
highly detailed calabash is one of a handful of American flasks
embossed with the name of the mold maker and it is arguably the
finest of the calabash flasks, featuring an image of the Hungarian
Revolutionary Louis Kossuth one side and the US Frigate "Mississippi"
on the other. The bottle was blown to commemorate Kossuth's arrival
in New York on October 15, 1851 and as noted by McKearin, "not
since the arrival of Lafayette in 1824/1825 had the arrival of
a foreigner been so eagerly awaited, nearly countrywide."
The excitement surrounding Kossuth's arrival is reflected in
the intricacies of the flask that bears his image and by cutting
his own name into the mold, it is obvious that "P. Dolfin"
was indeed proud of his work. With that said, this FINE example
of the GI-112 mold offers today's collector a superlative artifact
showcasing the mold maker's art AND a taste of American history
to boot.
SOLD! |
