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Category Archives: Furniture
Truths of the Trade: Collecting, Researching, and Exhibiting an Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World Cabinet
A mere shadow, faintly visible in raking light, is all that remains of the script that once spelled “Philadelphia” on the drawer front of Winterthur’s recently acquired double cabinet. This drawer may be blank, but gold painted letters still adorn … Continue reading
A Winterthur Interview: Thomas Chippendale at 300
In celebration of the 300th anniversary of Thomas Chippendale’s birth, Winterthur Museum has organized an exhibit featuring its collection of rococo-inspired furniture, Thomas Chippendale’s publications, and related publications and objects influenced by Chippendale’s designs. Cecilia Aquino, Winterthur intern, sat down … Continue reading
Southern Collecting in the Post−Civil War Era: A Case Study of Barbara Fritchie’s Desk-and-Bookcase
On November 21, 1885, Ariana Trail wrote to her son-in-law, Reverend John Harding, with a tone of urgency, imploring him to send his wife, Nan, $18, “so that she can buy Barbara Frietchie’s secretary, a lovely antique genuine, & in … Continue reading
The Remarkable Life and Career of a Free African-American Cabinetmaker
This mid-19th-century mahogany veneer dressing bureau, one of Winterthur’s newest furniture acquisitions, is a visually striking object with an even more striking history. Although the dresser conforms to popular urban furniture designs of its era (with its distinctive carved bracket … Continue reading
Posted in Academic Programs, antiques, Furniture, galleries, museum collection, Uncategorized
Tagged 19th century, African-American, Antebellum South, antiques, furniture, Henry Francis du Pont, milton, museum acquisitions, nc, thomas day, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
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Exotic Woods and International Trade
The objects in the upcoming Made in the Americas exhibition tell about global trade and how it inspired artistic traditions around the world (see our previous blog post, Globalism and Culturally Inspired Craftsmanship). Furniture crafted from exotic tropical hardwoods is … Continue reading
The Time to Buy: Collecting American Antiques in 2016
I love Antiques Week. Every year, during the third week in January, collectors, curators, and dealers—indeed anyone with a passion for antiques—gather in New York for the Mardi Gras of Americana. The Winter Antiques Show attracts the rich, the famous, … Continue reading
Influences from Abroad: Biedermeier Chairs in a New York Town House
Located within the Empire Parlor at Winterthur is a unique pair of side chairs. With distinctive double-balloon backs, incurvate stiles, and elegant scimitar legs, these chairs stand out from other pieces in the room.1 They are constructed primarily of mahogany and … Continue reading
Posted in Academic Programs, biedermeier, Decorative Arts, Delaware Antiques Show, Design, Du Pont Family, Furniture, House, museum collection, Students & Alumni, Uncategorized
Tagged antique furniture, biedermeier chairs, furniture collection, Winterthur, Winterthur Museum Garden & Library, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
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A Brittle Beauty
The centuries-old technique of lacquering (lacquer fragments have been unearthed from archeological sites in China dating to 5,000 BC) was, and still is, used to decorate furniture, teawares, dinner services, and architectural elements by coating them with multiple layers of … Continue reading
Posted in Academic Programs, American Culture Studies, Art Conservation, Decorative Arts, Furniture, Students & Alumni, Uncategorized
Tagged antiques, chinese lacquer, conservation, furniture, H. F. du Pont, lacquer, museum, sewing, Winterthur, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Museum Garden & Library
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New York Furniture and Its Diverse Beginnings
Settled by the Dutch and claimed by the English, New York, from the start, was “a Babel of peoples—Norwegians, Germans, Italians, Jews, Africans . . . Walloons, Bohemians, Munsees, Montauks, Mohawks, and many others,” writes author Russell Shorto. This early … Continue reading
Posted in Conferences, Decorative Arts, Furniture
Tagged Charles-Honore Lannuier, Cultivating Style in a Multiethnic World: New York Furniture 1650-1850, David Coutant, Duncan Phyfe, Empire State, Furniture Forum, Furniture Forum 2015, Furniture Forum From New Netherland to Empire State New York Furniture, George Mott Hewlett, H. F. du Pont, Harry du Pont, Henry Francis du Pont, HF du Pont, Jacob Coutant, Joshua Lane, Kim Collison, New York Furniture, Russell Shorto, Sewell C Biggs, Sewell C Biggs Furniture Forum, Wendy A Cooper, Winterthur, Winterthur Library, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Museum Garden & Library
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Craft & Commerce in the Early Delaware River Valley
The Delaware River flows 419 miles south from its source in the Catskill Mountains of New York to the Delaware Bay, just north of Cape May, New Jersey. A 1757 map by Thomas Kitchin illustrates the interconnectedness of the landscape … Continue reading
Posted in Decorative Arts, Furniture
Tagged Cape May New Jersey, Catskill Mountains, Delaware Bay, Delaware River, Delaware River Valley, Jackie Killian, John Panckhurst, Joseph Hibberd, Seth Pancoast, Sewell C Biggs Fellow, Thomas Kitchin, William Beake, Winterthur, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Museum Garden & Library, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
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