Accession Number

1986.008.0702

Alternate object names

Glass;Drinking Glass

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

Four pieces of a well-preserved, smoky-amber glass were found scattered across the wreck of the 1622 galleon Atocha. When joined together, the distinctive fragments formed the major part of a cylindrical, tumbler-type drinking glass. The vessel’s bubble-filled body is covered with fine striations, while the interior is smooth, and the rim has been ground to an even finish. Glass drinking vessels were used in Spain in the 1500s but tended to appear later in the American colonies. This example is the oldest known tumbler in the New World. Height 12.0 cm. 

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023): N/A
Object Caption (2023):

Tumbler
Glass (possibly Spanish, c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0702

This is the oldest known glass tumbler in the Americas. It was found in pieces, scattered across the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. Joined together, they formed part of this drinking glass. Glass drinking vessels were used in Spain during the 1500s but tended to appear later in the American colonies.