Art

The National Museum of American History is not an art museum. But works of art fill its collections and testify to the vital place of art in everyday American life. The ceramics collections hold hundreds of examples of American and European art glass and pottery. Fashion sketches, illustrations, and prints are part of the costume collections. Donations from ethnic and cultural communities include many homemade religious ornaments, paintings, and figures. The Harry T Peters "America on Stone" collection alone comprises some 1,700 color prints of scenes from the 1800s. The National Quilt Collection is art on fabric. And the tools of artists and artisans are part of the Museum's collections, too, in the form of printing plates, woodblock tools, photographic equipment, and potters' stamps, kilns, and wheels.

Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900).
Description
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). Morris and Ruskin believed that the growth of cities isolated urban workers and that mass production negatively affected artisan crafts. They proposed to solve these issues by returning to a medieval-inspired village model where everybody participated in a community lifestyle. In the United States, artisans adapted these ideas into the studio art pottery movement. Unlike their British counterparts, who often focused predominantly on social issues and therefore made objects that incorporated Gothic and Renaissance motifs, American craftsmen developed a cohesive and novel aesthetic.
This small Rookwood vase showcases the company’s “Mahogany Standard Glaze.” Although it had been producing objects with the distinctive gradient coloration since 1885, Rookwood only began referring to the glaze as their “Standard Glaze” in 1900. This process was comparatively expensive; it was technically challenging to achieve and many of the pieces taken out of the kiln were defective. In the “Mahogany” version, the decorator airbrushed the slip yellow-tinted background onto a red clay body. Unlike traditional glaze decoration, which is actually a kind of glass, slip decoration is made from colored clay and adheres tightly to the clay surface onto which it is applied.
Like many of its counterparts, this vase features a floral motif. The trumpet flower on this vase was a popular flower in Victorian gardens and would have been easily recognized by its intended consumers: the rapidly growing American middle class.
This small Rookwood vase showcases the company’s “Mahogany Standard Glaze.” Although it had been producing objects with the distinctive gradient coloration since 1885, Rookwood only began referring to the glaze as their “Standard Glaze” in 1900. This process was comparatively expensive; it was technically challenging to achieve and many of the pieces taken out of the kiln were defective. In the “Mahogany” version, the decorator airbrushed the slip yellow-tinted background onto a red clay body. Unlike traditional glaze decoration, which is actually a kind of glass, slip decoration is made from colored clay and adheres tightly to the clay surface onto which it is applied.
Like many of its counterparts, this vase features a floral motif. The trumpet flower on this vase was a popular flower in Victorian gardens and would have been easily recognized by its intended consumers: the rapidly growing American middle class.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
maker
Rookwood Pottery
ID Number
CE.393577
catalog number
393577
accession number
208838
Favrile glass, made of opaque glass, over which are splashings of smokey yellow with changeable iridescent colors. Form: An ovoid body with a cylindrical neck. Blue/green opaque glass vase with luster drips. The lower section is bulbous and narrows down to a thin, tall opening.
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass, made of opaque glass, over which are splashings of smokey yellow with changeable iridescent colors. Form: An ovoid body with a cylindrical neck. Blue/green opaque glass vase with luster drips. The lower section is bulbous and narrows down to a thin, tall opening. There are a number of stickers on the bottom. There is a round paper Tiffany label which says Tiffany-Favrille Glass-Registered Trade Mark and has the Tiffany symbol. There are two white oval paper stickers with red edges. One has the # 5161 on it and the other is 2000. They are both hand written. There is another sticker but it is illegible because the adhesive has bled through and has made it transparent.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96427
catalog number
96427
accession number
30453
maker number
5161
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1888
ID Number
CE.P-1065
catalog number
P-1065
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
ID Number
CE.P-1066
catalog number
P-1066
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1662-1722
ID Number
CE.P-457
catalog number
P-457
accession number
225282
MARKS: “46” impressed in unglazed base.PURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1943.This bottle is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr.
Description
MARKS: “46” impressed in unglazed base.
PURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1943.
This bottle is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr. Syz (1894-1991) began his collection in the early years of World War II, when he purchased eighteenth-century Meissen table wares from the Art Exchange run by the New York dealer Adolf Beckhardt (1889-1962). Dr. Syz, a Swiss immigrant to the United States, collected Meissen porcelain while engaged in a professional career in psychoanalysis and the research of human behavior. He believed that cultural artifacts have an important role to play in enhancing our awareness and understanding of human creativity and its communication among peoples. His collection grew to represent this conviction.
The invention of Meissen porcelain, declared over three hundred years ago early in 1709, was a collective achievement that represents an early modern precursor to industrial chemistry and materials science. The porcelains we see in our museum collections, made in the small town of Meissen in Germany, were the result of an intense period of empirical research. Generally associated with artistic achievement of a high order, Meissen porcelain was also a technological achievement in the development of inorganic, non-metallic materials.
The bottle (its stopper is missing) was made in the Meissen manufactory but painted outside by an independent artist. Hausmalerei is a German word that means in literal translation ‘home painting’, and it refers to the practice of painting enamels and gold onto the surface of blank ceramics and glass in workshops outside the manufactory of origin. Beginning in the seventeenth century the work of the Hausmaler varied in quality from the outstanding workshops of Nuremberg, Augsburg, and Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), to the less skilled efforts of amateur artists. Early Meissen porcelain was sought after for this purpose, and wealthy patrons of local enameling and gilding workshops purchased undecorated porcelain, often of out-moded or inferior quality, which was then enameled with subjects of their choice. Hausmalerei was at first acceptable to the early porcelain manufactories like Meissen and Vienna, and Meissen sent blank porcelain to Augsburg workshops for decoration, but as the market became more competitive they tried to eradicate the practice. It was a temptation for Meissen porcelain painters to take on extra work as Hausmaler to augment their low pay, and the manufactory cautioned or imprisoned them if Hausmalerei activity was suspected or discovered.
The bottle follows the shape of Japanese prototypes in the collection of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August II (1670 -1733). In Japan this form had its origin as a flask for rice wine or saké, and the shape was a success in reproduction at Meissen, sometimes painted in imitation of the Japanese Kakiemon style, or with European subjects. This bottle was decorated in the Netherlands in about 1740-1750, although the Hausmaler is not known.
Dutch Hausmaler enameled large quantities of Chinese and Japanese porcelain imported from East Asia by the United East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-indische Compagnie), and they enameled European faience and porcelain as well. The quality of the Dutch Hausmalerei was not as refined as Meissen imitations of the Japanese Kakiemon style as this bottle shows, but at its best Dutch enameling can present difficulties in distinguishing East Asian decorative work from that of Holland. The objective was to sell these items at the higher prices obtainable for Japanese Kakiemon porcelain.
On Hausmaler see Ulrich Pietsch, 2011, Early Meissen Porcelain: The Wark Collection from The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, pp. 43-46, and the examples of similar saké bottles on p. 530.
Hans Syz, J. Jefferson Miller II, Rainer Rückert, 1979, Catalogue of the Hans Syz Collection: Meissen Porcelain and Hausmalerei, pp. 568-569.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1740
ca 1740
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
1992.0427.21
accession number
1992.0427
catalog number
1992.0427.21
collector/donor number
401
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.Currently not on view
Description
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0935
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06331
collector/donor number
SAP 1023
catalog number
1991.0664.0935
This blown and molded bottle has a narrow neck for pouring liquids. It's baked enamel label is framed by a Baroque style blue and yellow cartouche, and is marked AQ CARBUNC. The bottle would have contained Aqua Carbunclus.
Description
This blown and molded bottle has a narrow neck for pouring liquids. It's baked enamel label is framed by a Baroque style blue and yellow cartouche, and is marked AQ CARBUNC. The bottle would have contained Aqua Carbunclus. Carbunclus is Latin for coal, and this solution was likely a mixture of water and coal, or another form of carbon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0278
catalog number
M-05427
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 136
catalog number
1991.0664.0278
This glass bottle has a baked enamel label marked TINCT MART APERIY ZW. The European Apothecary Collection contains dozens of drug jars with this same embellishment.
Description
This glass bottle has a baked enamel label marked TINCT MART APERIY ZW. The European Apothecary Collection contains dozens of drug jars with this same embellishment. The generic blue and yellow decoration with its stylized crown above the cartouche is similar to glass drug jars in the collection of the Deutsche Apotheken Museum in Heidelberg, Germany.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0249
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05397
collector/donor number
SAP 106
catalog number
1991.0664.0249
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.Currently not on view
Description
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0939
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06335
collector/donor number
SAP 1027
catalog number
1991.0664.0939
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a baked enamel white oval cartouche that is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers, and a three-pointed crown.
Description
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a baked enamel white oval cartouche that is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers, and a three-pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ESS LIGNOR", and the Roman numeral "V" is etched into the bottle above the center of the crown. The jar would have contained Essentia Lignorum, or essence of wood. Essentia Lignorum was used to cure “foulness of the blood.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0382
catalog number
M-05531
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 243
catalog number
1991.0664.0382
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red and yellow flowers. A yellow crown sits on the top of the shield.
Description
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red and yellow flowers. A yellow crown sits on the top of the shield. The alchemical symbols for spirits, salt and herbs are marked in black just above ANIS. which would have referred to the plant anise hyssop steeped in an alcohol solution with the ash of plant mixed into the solution. The solution would have been used as an expectorant or antiseptic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0389
catalog number
M-05538
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 250
catalog number
1991.0664.0389
This blown and molded bottle has a label which reads ESS AMARA HALL in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. The bottle would have contained Essence of amara Hallensis.
Description
This blown and molded bottle has a label which reads ESS AMARA HALL in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. The bottle would have contained Essence of amara Hallensis. Essence of amara Hallensis was also known as a tincture of absinthii kalina, which was composed of a tincture of absinthe, amarae, aromaticae, and liquid potassium carbonate. It was most commonly prescribed as a stomachic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0275
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05424
collector/donor number
SAP 133
catalog number
1991.0664.0275
This glass drug container has a baked enamel label and is marked MELLAG GRAMIN.Currently not on view
Description
This glass drug container has a baked enamel label and is marked MELLAG GRAMIN.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th Century
ID Number
1991.0664.0433
catalog number
M-05582
accession number
1991.0664
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red flowers. A yellow crown sits on the top of the shield. The alchemical symbol for spirits is above the word CAMPHOR.
Description
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red flowers. A yellow crown sits on the top of the shield. The alchemical symbol for spirits is above the word CAMPHOR. Camphor was often used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic. It is a gummy, aromatic substance obtained from the Camphor Laurel or cinnamomum camphora found in China, Japan, and Taiwan. Externally Camphor was applied to the skin as a liniment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0356
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 217
catalog number
1991.0664.0356
M-05505
This blown and molded glass bottle with stopper has a baked enamel label marked, OL RUTAE. Oil of Rutae is made from the herb Ruta graveolens more commonly known as Rue.
Description
This blown and molded glass bottle with stopper has a baked enamel label marked, OL RUTAE. Oil of Rutae is made from the herb Ruta graveolens more commonly known as Rue. The leaves of the herb are distilled in alcohol and used as a stimulant, an antispasmodic, for convulsions and hysteria, and as an abortifacient, to induce a miscarriage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0466
catalog number
M-05615
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 327
catalog number
1991.0664.0466
A painted floral garland with a red bow on top and a blue bow at the bottom decorates this white apothecary bottle. The inside of the garland is marked, “ELIX/IUNIPER.” This jar would have contained an Elixir of Juniper, made from juniper berries.
Description
A painted floral garland with a red bow on top and a blue bow at the bottom decorates this white apothecary bottle. The inside of the garland is marked, “ELIX/IUNIPER.” This jar would have contained an Elixir of Juniper, made from juniper berries. The elixir was used as a carminative, tonic, and diuretic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th-19th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0865
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05635
collector/donor number
SAP 347
catalog number
1991.0664.0865
This blown and molded bottle is marked ELIX UTERIN CR. The bottle would have contained an elixir of uterinum, which was a compound of sabin, castor, and myrrh that was used to stimulate menses.Currently not on view
Description
This blown and molded bottle is marked ELIX UTERIN CR. The bottle would have contained an elixir of uterinum, which was a compound of sabin, castor, and myrrh that was used to stimulate menses.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0307
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05456
collector/donor number
SAP 165
catalog number
1991.0664.0307
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a white baked enamel oval cartouche that is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers and a three-pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ANIS beneath the alchemical symbols for spirits, salt, and herb.
Description
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a white baked enamel oval cartouche that is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers and a three-pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ANIS beneath the alchemical symbols for spirits, salt, and herb. The jar would have contained a concoction using the anise plant, which was noted for its use as a tonic, or a pectoral (for chest and lung relief), or to relieve flatulence.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0384
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05533
collector/donor number
SAP 245
catalog number
1991.0664.0384.01
1991.0664.0384.02
This blown and molded bottle has a baked enamel which reads BALS VITAE HOFFM.
Description
This blown and molded bottle has a baked enamel which reads BALS VITAE HOFFM. The bottle would have contained Hoffman’s Balsam of Life, a tincture from the balsam of Peru (myroxylon pereirae) and other aromatics synthesized by the German physician Friedrich Hoffman during the 18th century. The Balsam of Life would have been used as a liniment for treating wounds.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0273
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05422
collector/donor number
SAP 131
catalog number
1991.0664.0273
This blown and molded round glass bottle has a narrow neck with a wide flared lip and a rounded glass stopper. The white baked enamel label is outlined in blue, terminating with a blue bow and a yellow crown. The label is marked OL MAIOR in black.
Description
This blown and molded round glass bottle has a narrow neck with a wide flared lip and a rounded glass stopper. The white baked enamel label is outlined in blue, terminating with a blue bow and a yellow crown. The label is marked OL MAIOR in black. In Latin, the letter I was often used instead of a J as seen on the bottle. The bottle would have contained an oil of majorana, made from the leaves of the majoram tree. The oil was prescribed as a tonic, cephalic as a possible cure for headache, and expectorant.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0438
catalog number
M-05587
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 299
catalog number
1991.0664.0438.01
1991.0664.0438.02
This blown and molded glass jar has a baked enamel label surrounded by a gold escutcheon topped by a gold crown. The label is marked with the alchemical symbols for Mercury and Precipitate and RUBR.
Description
This blown and molded glass jar has a baked enamel label surrounded by a gold escutcheon topped by a gold crown. The label is marked with the alchemical symbols for Mercury and Precipitate and RUBR. The jar would have contained red mercuric oxide, which was used as an escharotic, a salve to kill tissue and remove dead skin cells.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0463
catalog number
M-05612
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 324
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.0463
This blown and molded square glass bottle has a flared lip and a baked enamel cartouche with a white shield which is framed by blue stylized leaves and yellow ribbon and capped by a crown. It is marked TR. RHE. APU.Currently not on view
Description
This blown and molded square glass bottle has a flared lip and a baked enamel cartouche with a white shield which is framed by blue stylized leaves and yellow ribbon and capped by a crown. It is marked TR. RHE. APU.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0179
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05327
1991.0664.0179
collector/donor number
SAP 36
This blown and molded glass jar has a baked enamel label marked, TR THEBUIC. The jar would have contained tincture of thebaica. The tincture was made by letting opium steep in two pints of alcohol.
Description
This blown and molded glass jar has a baked enamel label marked, TR THEBUIC. The jar would have contained tincture of thebaica. The tincture was made by letting opium steep in two pints of alcohol. The resulting tincture was used as a sedative, a narcotic, an antitussive, or an antidiarrheal.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0462
catalog number
M-05611
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 323
catalog number
1991.0664.0462

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.