Columbus

Object NamePlate

Manufacturer Canton Glass Company (American (Canton, OH), 1883 - 1899)

Date1891

OriginU.S.A.-Pittsburgh, Penn.?

MediumGlass, pressed, white milk

Dimensions1 × 9 5/8 in. (2.5 × 24.4 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Glass

Credit LineGift of Ann and Henry Brunnier. In the Ann and Henry Brunnier Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number3.15.57

Status

On view

Collections

Decorative Arts

CultureAmerican

Label TextChristopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on voyages sponsored by Spain, connecting Europe with the Americas. In 1492, he sought a westward route to Asia but instead reached islands in the Caribbean, including parts of the present-day Bahamas and Hispaniola. Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus completed four voyages, initiating sustained contact between Europe and the Americas, a process later known as the Columbian Exchange. Despite his navigational achievements, historians debate Columbus’s legacy. His expeditions exploited and enslaved Indigenous populations and caused their severe decline through violence, forced labor, and disease. Europeans long celebrated him as a heroic discoverer, but modern scholarship highlights the harmful consequences of his actions and emphasizes recognizing the perspectives and experiences of Indigenous peoples affected by European colonization. Artists and craftsmen frequently depicted Christopher Columbus in decorative arts, especially during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when people widely celebrated him as a symbol of exploration and the European presence in the Americas. They featured his likeness on objects such as commemorative plates, medals, textiles, paintings, and exhibition souvenirs, portraying him as a heroic navigator guided by faith and determination. These idealized representations reflected national pride and Eurocentric historical narratives, particularly during anniversaries like the 1892 quadricentennial of his voyage. Bello, Manuel; Shaver, Annis N. (2011). “Representation of Columbus in History Textbooks”. In Provenzo, Eugene F. Jr.; Shaver, Annis N.; Bello, Manuel (eds.). The Textbook as Discourse: Sociocultural Dimensions of American Schoolbooks. Routledge. p. 152. Wilford, John Noble (1991). “Columbus and the Labyrinth of History”. The Wilson Quarterly. 15 (4): 79–80. McIlwraith, Thomas F.; Muller, Edward K. (2001). North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 35.

Markings"1492/Columbus/1892"

Locations