Dick Johnson's article was most interesting to me. Whenever my mother discussed the pitcher, she would say she wasn't sure how the bust was put on, but she thought she had heard the process involved platinum. She would have heard this from her father, a trained chemist, or her grandfather Jacob B. Eckfeldt, the assayer. No chemist myself (nor was my mother - we didn't inherit the scientific genes!), I am curious if platinum could have been the material used to treat the clay in this case, just to corroborate my mother's recollection.

Mother was partly right. Platinum is widely used in glass making. But it was not necessary for making cameo incrustations.

I am not an expert in glassmaking (my expertise is the relief that was molded in the glass). It appears from reading the literature that the molds for glass objects are often made of platinum for several characteristics of the metal. It can withstand the heat necessary for containing the molten glass, it can be formed to any shape -- and best of all -- the platinum metal can be reused.

It appears platinum can be used for what I call "long press runs." (I don't know the equivalent term for glassmaking.) Let's just say a large number molded glass objects can be made from the same mold, used over and over.

I don't believe this was the case for the Eckfeldt pitcher. Particularly since there are so few of these, a great quantity apparently were not made.

To read more click on this article: Platinum Group Metals in Glass Making (www.platinummetalsreview.com/article/54/3/186-191/)

Don't discredit what mother said. Just recognize it was not necessary for her pitcher.

Dick Johnson's responds was highly informative but contained an error. Adam Eckfeldt was not the first Chief Coiner. Henry Voigt was the first Chief Coiner, 1792-1814. Adam Eckfeldt was the second, 1814-1839.