Food service: Tumbler and Waste Bowl Set, belonging to P. T. Barnum
1810 – 1850 (Date manufactured/created)
Decorative Arts
Cup and bowl of semi-transparent white glass, each piece decorated with a gold band around the rim, and the initials "PTB" in Old English script.
The cup and bowl are part of set of four in the Barnum Museum's collection, and may originally have been part of a set of twelve, owned by P. T. Barnum. Most likely this is a waste bowl set. Also called slop bowls, the waste bowl was intended for food scraps, or as was more customary by the late 1700s and 1800s, a vessel for remaining cold tea to be poured into before having a fresh cup. Waste bowls became a standard tea service item during the late 1700s.
The glass is surprisingly heavy even though its transparency makes it seem thin and light. The undersides are unmarked but the items are of high quality make. According to P.T. Barnum's autobiography, he bought his elaborately decorated porcelain dinner service and gilt silver tea service while on a three-year tour in Europe promoting Charles S. Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"). The two were in Paris in 1846 when it was announced that a Russian prince who lived in the city had died, and his possessions were to be auctioned off. Barnum's curiosity and newly acquired wealth tempted him to attend the auction, along with the wealthy Parisians who flocked to purchase the luxury items. Unlike the other items Barnum purchased at the auction, the waste bowl sets do not have the Russian prince's crest on them. Barnum continued to use the items he acquired throughout his life, as items from the sets of china and silver can be seen in photographs of the dining room in his last home, Marina, which was built in 1888-1889.
The cup and bowl are part of set of four in the Barnum Museum's collection, and may originally have been part of a set of twelve, owned by P. T. Barnum. Most likely this is a waste bowl set. Also called slop bowls, the waste bowl was intended for food scraps, or as was more customary by the late 1700s and 1800s, a vessel for remaining cold tea to be poured into before having a fresh cup. Waste bowls became a standard tea service item during the late 1700s.
The glass is surprisingly heavy even though its transparency makes it seem thin and light. The undersides are unmarked but the items are of high quality make. According to P.T. Barnum's autobiography, he bought his elaborately decorated porcelain dinner service and gilt silver tea service while on a three-year tour in Europe promoting Charles S. Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"). The two were in Paris in 1846 when it was announced that a Russian prince who lived in the city had died, and his possessions were to be auctioned off. Barnum's curiosity and newly acquired wealth tempted him to attend the auction, along with the wealthy Parisians who flocked to purchase the luxury items. Unlike the other items Barnum purchased at the auction, the waste bowl sets do not have the Russian prince's crest on them. Barnum continued to use the items he acquired throughout his life, as items from the sets of china and silver can be seen in photographs of the dining room in his last home, Marina, which was built in 1888-1889.
Bequest of Arleen P. Seeley
2007.002.046 AB