Patterns, Designs and Motifs

Using pieces from the museum’s collection, “Patterns, Designs and Motifs” highlights the design elements that are used to identify cut glass. Beginning with the basic motifs used on all cut glass, the display shows how these motifs combine together to create patterns. While many patterns were in the public domain and cut by every glass cutting shop, new and unique patterns were created and patented by cut glass factories for their exclusive use. Successful patterns were mimicked by other companies, making it difficult to identify a specific piece with a specific company.

One of the ways collectors identify cut glass today is by distinguishing some of the unique patterns used by cut glass companies. One of the best ways to learn what company cut a piece of glass is through recognizing motifs and how they are combined to form a pattern.

The exhibit uses photographs taken by John Van Horn to highlight many of the motifs used in glass cutting.

The Dorflinger Legacy: Glass from Family Collections

Almost two dozen examples of Dorflinger glass have been borrowed from family collections. These descendants are from branches of the Christian Dorflinger and Eugene Dorflinger families. These pieces are rarely seen unless loaned for special exhibits. This display will complement two long-term loans of glass from June Dorflinger Hardy and Jane Beers, both great granddaughters of Christian Dorflinger.

Roses Cut in Glass

Nature offers a wide variety of roses. While Wayne County’s glass cutting shops weren’t nearly so prolific as Mother Nature, they still produced a wide variety of cut rose designs. A display in the Wayne County Glass Gallery, “Roses Cut in Glass” explores cut rose design variations from many of the area’s cut glass shops.

By showing the best known “Rose” design patented by the Irving Cut Glass Company and examples of others by Honesdale Cut Glass, Wasman, Herbeck-Demer, Feeney and McKanna, Elite, Tallman, Louis Rickert and the Keystone-Murphy factories, this display offers a unique opportunity to compare the various rose designs side-by-side. The exhibit has been arranged by Kurt Reed and Walter Barbe and is based on their extensive research.