According to Samuel J. Hough, this jug was one of the centerpieces of Gorham's display at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Made specifically for the Fair, it was finished June 1, 1893. The piece required 125 hours of fabrication and 300 hours of chasing. The piece was then sent to New York for setting the stones and enameling. The enamel, both the decorative grounds and the Venus panels, was executed by the Hungarian artist, G. DeFestetics, who spent over 378 hours at a cost of $350.00. Many of Gorham's offerings in 1893 were designed by William C. Codman, such as the Nautilus centerpiece. Although Codman's name cannot be tied directly to this jug, its feel is similar to the designer's work at this period.
This piece, with an engraved depiction, was highlighted in the Providence Sunday Journal, June 18, 1893, which was publishing highlights headed for the fair:
...one of the daintiest articles which has been recently completed and shipped to Chicago. This is an enamelled rose water jar which stands 16 inches high. The body of the jar is of clear white glass, with silver ornamentation about it, pierced so that the glass surface may show through. The paintings on the body of the vase, one on each side and one on the front, represent three allegorical subjects, executed by De Festetics, and surrounded by very fine ornamentation in oxidized silver and parcel-gilt. The coloring in the enamelled surfaces is harmoniously blended and very beautiful, lending much to the general artistic effect of the fine metal working. The neck of the jar or vase is handsomely enamelled and studded with jewels, amethysts, carbuncles and crystals. A griffin, with wings of translucent enamel and delicate ornamental work, forms the handle. Originality and beauty of design are combined with completeness and delicacy of execution to make this vase a gem of artistic work... the value of the rose water jar is $1,000.
Gorham's enamel work was a success at the 1893 Exposition, and the company received seven awards for this technique alone. A pamphlet published by the firm in 1894 about its display records that "it is scarcely a year since the Gorham Company commenced the production of translucent enamels, yet this work is of such a high order that one of the German Commissioners at the Fair has purchased a specimen of it...to be placed in the Royal Kunstgewerbe Museum of Berlin." Gorham's records reveal that the Company was prepared to take only $44.00 profit on this piece which had cost $800.00 to manufacture; for exhibition purposes, immediate financial gain was secondary to art and recognition.
