Imposing in scale and embellished with elaborate prism and pillar cutting, this vase is the product of the Pittsburgh Flint Glass Works (more commonly referred to as Bakewell, Page & Bakewell), one of the most ambitious glasshouses in nineteenth-century America. Benjamin Bakewell, the proprietor, understood showmanship; when the Marquis de Lafayette visited Pittsburgh during his celebrated tour of the United States in 1824–25, Bakewell presented a grand ceremonial gift to the French dignitary and hero of the Revolutionary War. This vase descended in the Bakewell family and, according to tradition, was part of an initial pair made for Lafayette that was put aside due to flaws. More likely, this vase was the sample on which the skilled glass cutters practiced cutting the intricate pattern of facets. The glass used by Bakewell between 1825 and 1832 had an unstable composition that over time resulted in a hazy corrosion termed “crizzling.” Even with its now-clouded appearance, this vase shows Bakewell’s ambition to make glass that rivaled that of Europe.