Name/Title
Cordial GlassesEntry/Object ID
1972.136.2A-GDescription
Seven cordial glasses part of a matching bar set. The clear vessels are adorned with depictions of floating golden leaves. They have square bases that are outlined in gold.Use
These small glasses are a part of a bar set. They were used to serve alcohol, often after dinner.Context
Reportedly owned by Wade Hampton III (1818-1902), this set of of cordial glasses was used to serve alcohol.
Born at the William Rhett House in Charleston, South Carolina, Wade Hampton III was the eldest son of Wade Hampton II (1791-1858) and Ann Fitzsimons Hampton (1794-1833). Prior to the Civil War, he split his time between the family's plantations Millwood and Woodlands and his own lands in Issaquena and Washington counties, Mississippi. He married twice, first to Margaret Buchanan Preston (1818-1852) and then to Mary Singleton McDuffie (1830-1874).
After his father’s death in 1858, Hampton III inherited both substantial property and substantial debt. Although most of Hampton III’s wealth—comprised of or built by the people he enslaved—was lost during and after the Civil War, he remained an influential part of state and national politics until his death. As the main Hampton family homes in Columbia, including Hampton III's Diamond Hill, were burned during the Civil War, its possible this decanter set came from Wild Woods in Mississippi.Dimensions
Height
2-3/4 inWidth
1-1/2 inLength
1-1/2 in
