Vase (Model #E572), so-called “Rocket Vase”

Anchor Hocking Glass

About 1961-1962

This vase has become commonly known as the Rocket Vase because of its attenuated form and flaring triangular corners, which resemble the wings at the base of a rocket. It is likely that its nickname was coined as soon as the piece appeared on the market, since it was made at a time when space travel was the subject of great public interest. On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Shortly thereafter, on May 25, President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program, with the goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.”  While the U.S. did not realize that goal until 1969, it didn’t take long to put an American in space. On February 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. While we don’t know how deliberate the Space Race influenced the design of this vase, it would have been difficult for Americans of the time not to see this object as a related to the Space Age.