Domestic Furnishings

Tiffany Floor Lamp

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

Candle Box

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840 - 1900
ID Number
2014.0004.037
accession number
2014.0004
catalog number
2014.0004.037

Teaspoon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1835
ID Number
DL.60.0978B
catalog number
60.0978B
accession number
68743

ladle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1792 - 1793
ID Number
DL.66.0582B
catalog number
66.0582B
accession number
265238

Snipe Shooting

Colored print of two hunters with their dogs beside a marshy lake with high rushes. One hunter stands in a flat-bottomed boat, shooting at two birds in flight. One dog stands ready to retreive. The other dog is delivering a dead bird to his master.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two hunters with their dogs beside a marshy lake with high rushes. One hunter stands in a flat-bottomed boat, shooting at two birds in flight. One dog stands ready to retreive. The other dog is delivering a dead bird to his master.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.2791
catalog number
60.2791
accession number
228146

Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Stubbs, Joseph
ID Number
CE.62.917M
catalog number
62.917M
accession number
171126

hook, latch

Wrought iron hasp or hook latch. Flattened shaft with oblong opening at bottom to allow for staple to protrude, circular opening at top, and attached J-shaped latch to hook into staple. No mark. Rusted.Currently not on view
Description
Wrought iron hasp or hook latch. Flattened shaft with oblong opening at bottom to allow for staple to protrude, circular opening at top, and attached J-shaped latch to hook into staple. No mark. Rusted.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1800-1860
ID Number
DL.388997
catalog number
388997
accession number
182022

Teakettle

Pit-bottom teakettle with bellied gooseneck spout and cast-in arched ears above its high, rounded shoulder for the mushroom-shaped strap bail handle, concave in section; no feet. Removable, pivoting, double-stepped lid swings on bearing next to back ear.
Description
Pit-bottom teakettle with bellied gooseneck spout and cast-in arched ears above its high, rounded shoulder for the mushroom-shaped strap bail handle, concave in section; no feet. Removable, pivoting, double-stepped lid swings on bearing next to back ear. Both pieces are hollow cast: body has a pronounced horizontal seam that extends to top of spout and a single gate mark and raised "8" on bottom exterior; cover bordered by "B & S. 272 PEARL ST.N.Y." and "PATENTED DEC.18.1866", both cast in raised serif letters.
"B & S." appears to stand for Benham & Stoutenborough, a housewares merchant and manufacturer at 272 Pearl Street, run by Darius Benham and Xenophon Stoutenborough. William Hailes of Albany, NY, received U.S. Patent No. 60,508 for his "mode of attaching covers to kettles, boilers, stoves, etc." on December 18, 1866.
Location
Currently not on view
date patented
1866-12-18
date made
ca 1870
patent date
1866-12-18
ID Number
1982.0090.17
accession number
1982.0090
catalog number
1982.0090.17

Sunkist® Juicit® Electric Juicer

Electric juicer.Cylindrical steel body/base (A), electric motor and components encased inside. Chrome-plated stand and top, mid-section painted white with circular metal tag attached, printed in cream and orange: “CAT. NO.
Description
Electric juicer.
Cylindrical steel body/base (A), electric motor and components encased inside. Chrome-plated stand and top, mid-section painted white with circular metal tag attached, printed in cream and orange: “CAT. NO. 2700/APPROVED BY Sunkist ®/Juicit ®/A HANDY HOT PRODUCT”. Bottom is hollow to allow heat venting, has spots for three black rubber feet (two are missing). Top has molded spout, metal rod attachment for glass juicing attachment (B) to sit. Silver On/Off switch in back. Black rubber power chord with two-prong plug attached in back. Yellow paper “Underwriters laboratories” tag attached to cord.
Top of cylinder is stamped: ”Handyhot/CAT. NO. 2700 UL/ALTERNATING CURRENT ONLY/PAT. NO. 1,962,856/CHICAGO ELECTRIC MFG. COMPANY/MADE IN U.S.A.”; also stamped “OIL” near oil opening at center top.
B. Molded glass juicing receptacle, white, with spout and raised hole in center; fits on top of body (A).
C. Molded metal strainer, flat, to be placed inside juicing receptacle (B). Holes throughout, three feet on bottom, which is stamped: “6/THIS SIDE DOWN”.
D. Molded cone-shaped juice reamer, white porcelain. Sits on top of raised hole in center of (B).
Patent US 1962856 A, June 12, 1934, B. A. BENSON, assignor to Chicago Electric Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Illinois, for “Orange juice extractor”
Maker is Chicago Electric Manufacturing Company (Mary Dunbar), (circa 1902-1953, when the Silex Corporation acquired the company). The Company’s products (a range of household appliances including waffle irons, grills, toasters, even an ice cream freezer) carry the “Handyhot”, “Victory Brand”, “Mary Dunbar”, and “Handymix” labels.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934-1940
maker
Chicago Electric Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1988.0747.2
accession number
1988.0747
catalog number
1988.0747.2

Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Mellor, Venables and Company
ID Number
CE.62.955M
catalog number
62.955M
accession number
171126

Sugar Bowl

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Meigh, Charles
ID Number
CE.62.949Lab
catalog number
62.949Lab
accession number
171126

Box or Trunk

Large, square, lidded box with scrolled hasp lock on front, brass bail handle with wooden grip on top, and two hinges riveted to the back. Lid has a wire-rolled rim, while the box has a top edge folded with a wire bead below and a flat bottom.
Description
Large, square, lidded box with scrolled hasp lock on front, brass bail handle with wooden grip on top, and two hinges riveted to the back. Lid has a wire-rolled rim, while the box has a top edge folded with a wire bead below and a flat bottom. Both lid and box are made of five pieces. Tinned interior. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885-1915
ID Number
DL.245425.0086
catalog number
245425.0086
accession number
245425

Meissen plate

TITLE: Meissen plateMAKER: Meissen ManufactoryPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)MEASUREMENTS: D. 9¼" 23.5cmOBJECT NAME: PlatePLACE MADE: Meissen, Saxony, GermanyDATE MADE: 1740SUBJECT: ArtDomestic FurnishingIndustry and ManufacturingCREDIT LINE: Hans C.
Description
TITLE: Meissen plate
MAKER: Meissen Manufactory
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
MEASUREMENTS: D. 9¼" 23.5cm
OBJECT NAME: Plate
PLACE MADE: Meissen, Saxony, Germany
DATE MADE: 1740
SUBJECT: Art
Domestic Furnishing
Industry and Manufacturing
CREDIT LINE: Hans C. Syz Collection
ID NUMBER: 74.139
COLLECTOR/ DONOR: 557
ACCESSION NUMBER:
(DATA SOURCE: National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center)
MARKS: Crossed swords in underglaze blue; “16” impressed.
PURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1945.
This plate 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 psychiatry 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 the German States, 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.
With a petal-shaped edge and a gold rim line the plate has a molded basket weave border in the old ozier (Alt Ozier) pattern. Painted in onglaze enamels the center of the plate contains the so-called “bee” pattern after the insects’ striped bodies (Bienenmuster). Adapted from Chinese and Japanese prototypes, the design is Meissen’s own, with three winged insects around a spray of stylized East Asian flowers tied with a ribbon that drifts above the ground.
Meissen’s “Indian flowers” is a generic term for compositions of peonies and chrysanthemums as well as more fanciful designs like the “bee” pattern that bear little resemblance to known botanical or insect species. India is highly likely to be the source for this type of pattern through the printed and painted textiles that reached Japan through the Indian Ocean trade and also mediated through Chinese silks imported by the Japanese from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. India was the powerhouse for textile production in the sixteenth century and one of the principal forces behind the development of a global trade network through the seventeenth century. The Mughal emperors who ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan at that time constructed beautiful gardens and encouraged the use of floral motifs in the arts and artisan trades. At first naturalistic in their representation in Mughal court painting floral designs became stylized under the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-1658)and the printed and painted cottons of later Mughal rule reflected this development.
Indian textiles were prized in Japan in the early Edo period, especially in conjunction with the tea ceremony where they were used to clean, wrap and store tea making utensils.
For an example of a plate with the same pattern but without the molded basket-weave relief on the rim and with a brown rim line rather than gold see Pietsch, U., 2011, Early Meissen Porcelain: the Wark Collectionfrom the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, p.250.
On the textile trade in early modern Japan see Denney, J., ‘Japan and the Textile Trade in Context’ in Peck, A., (ed.) 2013, Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile trade 1500-1800, pp. 57-65.
Jefferson Miller II, J., Rückert, R., Syz, H., 1979, Catalogue of the Hans Syz Collection: Meissen Porcelain and Hausmalerei, pp. 174-175.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1740
1740
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
CE.74.139
catalog number
74.139
collector/donor number
557
accession number
315259

Meissen porcelain sauceboat (Stadholder Service)

The sauceboat is part of a large table service known as the Stadholder Service after its first owner, Stadholder Willem V of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange and Nassau (1748-1806).
Description
The sauceboat is part of a large table service known as the Stadholder Service after its first owner, Stadholder Willem V of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange and Nassau (1748-1806). Evidence links the service to a commission from the Dutch East India Company (Ostindianische Compagnie), and as Stadholder Willem V was chief governor of the Company, but precise details about the occasion of the gift to Willem are not known.
The entire service was painted by Meissen artists in polychrome enamels with topographical scenes of places in the Dutch Republic and the Dutch colonial port of Batavia (present day Jakarta). A significant number of the scenes depict properties connected to the Dutch East India Company. Meissen artists painted the scenes with considerable accuracy after contemporary Dutch prints made available to the painting division at the Manufactory. On the sauceboat are two views of the village (now town) of Loenen on the river Vecht. Other Meissen artists painted the floral ornaments, and yet other specialists were responsible for the gold cartouches and ornament on handles, feet, and rims.
The service was molded in Meissen's "New Spanish" design in the rococo style that probably dates to the 1750s. By the 1770s the style was somewhat outmoded.
Provenance: From Meissen in Germany the Stadholder Service was sent to the Netherlands for presentation to Willem V, but when the French invaded in 1795 Willem escaped to England with his large family and took the complete dinner service with him. He did not return with it when he left England a few years later, and William Beckford of Fonthill (1760-1844) acquired the service (it is not known how), probably in the very early years of the nineteenth century. Beckford had a passion for fine and beautiful things, but his ambitious architectural project for the construction of Fonthill Abbey and his collecting activities led to financial difficulties. In 1823 the dinner service was sold at auction to a Mr. Hodges of London. In 1868 Christie’s of London sold the service in lots, and it was then dispersed widely across Europe, but it appears that the Reverend Alfred Duane Pell ((1864-1924) of New York City acquired about fifty or more pieces from the Stadholder Service, possibly on one or more of his European tours.
On this service see Abraham. L. den Blaauwen, 1993, "The Meissen Service of Stadholder Willem V."
On William Beckford see Derek E. Ostergard et.al, 2001, "William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent."
This sauceboat belongs to the Alfred Duane Pell collection in the National Museum of American History. Before Pell (1864-1924) became an Episcopalian clergyman quite late in life, he and his wife Cornelia Livingstone Crosby Pell (1861-1938) travelled widely, and as they travelled they collected European porcelains, silver, and furniture. Pell came from a wealthy family and he purchased the large William Pickhardt Mansion on 5th Avenue and East 74th Street in which to display his vast collection. The Smithsonian was one of several institutions to receive substantial bequests from the Reverend Pell which laid the foundation for their collections of European applied arts in the early twentieth century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1772-1774
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
CE.P-968
catalog number
P-968
accession number
225282

chair, side

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1770 - 1800
ID Number
1984.0242.05
accession number
1984.0242
catalog number
1984.0242.05

knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.66.0566F
catalog number
66.0566F
accession number
265238

1850 - 1851 Eliza Jane Baile's "Bride's" Quilt

Eliza Jane Baile lovingly stitched and inscribed this cotton album quilt top, finishing a few weeks after her marriage to Levi Manahan in 1851. Original patterns of wreaths of strawberries and flowers are framed by a strawberry vine along the quilt border.
Description
Eliza Jane Baile lovingly stitched and inscribed this cotton album quilt top, finishing a few weeks after her marriage to Levi Manahan in 1851. Original patterns of wreaths of strawberries and flowers are framed by a strawberry vine along the quilt border. Three blocks incorporate inked inscriptions within scrolls. On one corner, one may read “E J Baile. Commenced June 1850” and on the opposite corner, “Finished October 30 185l.” A third scroll has the following sentiment carefully penned:
“Sweett flowers bright as Indian Sky
Yet mild as Beauty’s soft blue eye;
Thy charms tho’ unassuming shed /
A modest splendoure o’er the mead.”
Great attention was given to the completion of this quilt. The sawteeth of the border are individually appliquéd and the strawberries stuffed. All of the motifs have outline quilting, with closely quilted background lines, 10 stitches to the inch. The overall design is further enhanced with embroidery and small details drawn in ink or watercolor.
Eliza Jane Baile, the daughter of Abner Baile (1807-1894) and Frances Pole Baile (1813-1893) was born February 13, 1832, in Maryland. According to Eliza’s obituary, her mother was a descendent of Edward III, King of England. At age nineteen, Eliza married Levi Manahan ((1824-1893) on October 11, 1851. They reared eight children on a farm near Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland.
Eliza was not only an accomplished quilter, she was also known as a folk artist. One of her oil paintings, Stone Chapel of the Methodist Church is at the Historical Society of Carroll County. Other paintings are owned and treasured by her descendents. An active member of the Stone Chapel United Methodist Church, Eliza also founded a Ladies Mite Society and served as president for 50 years. Mite Societies were voluntary organizations that were established in the nineteenth century to raise monies for mission work.
Eliza died June 25, 1923, age 91, at her home in Westminster and is buried at the Stone Chapel Cemetery. As her obituary in the Daily News, Frederick, Maryland, notes, “Her Christian character endeared her to many friends. She was well known as an artist.” In 1954, Eliza’s youngest daughter, Addie, donated her mother’s quilt to the Smithsonian. Eliza's artistic abilities are well represented in the “Bride’s Quilt” she designed and made for her marriage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1851
maker
Baile, Eliza Jane
ID Number
TE.T011149
accession number
202673
catalog number
T11149

Fearnaught Stallions

A color print of two chestnut horses (Lancet and Fearnaught Boy) with light manes pulling a cutter on a country road. They are joined by a T-shaped tongue, and their harnesses are light and handsome.
Description
A color print of two chestnut horses (Lancet and Fearnaught Boy) with light manes pulling a cutter on a country road. They are joined by a T-shaped tongue, and their harnesses are light and handsome. The driver is wearing a black coat with lapels, gloves, a boat-shaped hat, and a beaver rug over his knees. He is probably their owner David Nevins, Jr. A split rail fence borders the road. Mountains are in the distance, and the landscape is covered with snow.
Lancet and Fearnaught Boy were owned by David Nevins Jr. of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Haskell and Allen’s most memorable productions were their horse prints. A Boston based publisher of lithographs, the firm seems to have issued more large folio images than small. Haskell began as a print seller with Haskell and Ripley (1868) but in 1869 he began a partnership with George Allen. In 1873 they moved to 61 Hanover St in Boston where they prospered for a few years. They went bankrupt in 1878.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
maker
Haskell & Allen
artist
Eaton, L. G.
original artist
Leighton, Scott
ID Number
DL.60.3555
catalog number
60.3555

Teaspoon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905 or later
patent date
1900-10-09
ID Number
DL.380491A
catalog number
380491A
accession number
153231

Double Litre Measure

Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with a sloped collar pinched into spout at front and an overhanging pouted lid; molded lower rim and base. Curved-back thumb piece with wedge extension; five-knuckle hinge has hinge pin impressed with a domed star at one end.
Description
Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with a sloped collar pinched into spout at front and an overhanging pouted lid; molded lower rim and base. Curved-back thumb piece with wedge extension; five-knuckle hinge has hinge pin impressed with a domed star at one end. Stamped on front of body "DOUBLE LITRE" in incuse serif letters; on front of lower rim with a small imperial crown; and on extension and tip of lid with 25 letter verification marks. Underside of flat bottom struck once with circular touchmark "BAZIRE (arched) / A / AVRANCHES (curved)" in incuse serif letters.
Maker is Bazire of Avranches, France.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1851
ID Number
DL.67.0343
catalog number
67.0343
accession number
250853

Foot Warmer

Perforated tin box with drawn-wire bail handle hooked through loops on top; one side is a wire-rimmed hinged door with bent wire pull. Box top has three bands of punched circles, while sides feature an 8-segment circle with semicircles at the corners. No marks.
Description
Perforated tin box with drawn-wire bail handle hooked through loops on top; one side is a wire-rimmed hinged door with bent wire pull. Box top has three bands of punched circles, while sides feature an 8-segment circle with semicircles at the corners. No marks. No brazier or pan for heat source.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820 - 1850
ID Number
DL.392937
catalog number
392937
accession number
206516

lock, well bucket

Wrought iron well bucket lock. Tapered shaft with U-shaped hook and riveted and jointed locking shaft. No mark. Rusted.Currently not on view
Description
Wrought iron well bucket lock. Tapered shaft with U-shaped hook and riveted and jointed locking shaft. No mark. Rusted.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
DL.388999
catalog number
388999
accession number
182022

Pitcher, "Jacob Knight"

This large creamware pitcher is decorated with maritime-themed images on both sides. One side depicts a shipyard in the process of building a ship while another ship sails away in the background.
Description
This large creamware pitcher is decorated with maritime-themed images on both sides. One side depicts a shipyard in the process of building a ship while another ship sails away in the background. The other side features the image of the now-built ship under sail flying the American flag. Under the spout a medallion features the name “Jacob Knight” in the center. Robert H. McCauley purchased this pitcher from Joseph Kindig of York, PA on August 5, 1938 for $85.00. This pitcher was previously part of the antiques collections of Mrs. G. Winthrop Brown and William Randolph Hearst. In Liverpool Transfer Designs on Anglo-American Potter McCauley attributes the piece to Jacob Knight, a shipbuilder from Portland, Maine who perhaps commissioned this piece to reflect his business. The transfer-print features color on the American flag.
This pitcher is part of the McCauley collection of American themed transfer print pottery. There is no mark on the pitcher to tell us who made it, but it is characteristic of wares made in large volume for the American market in both Staffordshire and Liverpool between 1790 and 1820. Pitchers of this shape, with a cream colored glaze over a pale earthenware clay, known as Liverpool type, were the most common vessels to feature transfer prints with subjects commemorating events and significant figures in the early decades of United States’ history. Notwithstanding the tense relationship between Britain and America, Liverpool and Staffordshire printers and potters seized the commercial opportunity offered them in the production of transfer printed earthenwares celebrating the heroes, the military victories, and the virtues of the young republic, and frequently all of these things at once.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.63.079
catalog number
63.079
accession number
248881
collector/donor number
306

The Wedding Night

Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This colored print depicts an indoor scene of a man kneeling behind a woman untying the stays of her corset. He wears a high-collared shirt, lace bowtie and striped trousers. Both are wearing slippers and earrings. The man’s expression is somewhat cartoonish. The fireplace has a carved mantle upon which sits a candle holder and lit candle. There is a chair with clothing draped over it. Heavy drapery and a bed are in the background. The rug is patterned.
This lithograph was made by J Shutz, a lithographer who worked for Currier & Ives from 1849-1850. He was the firm’s primary letterer, and was responsible for lettering a large quantity of prints.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
Schutz, J
ID Number
DL.60.2281
catalog number
60.2281
accession number
228146

(untitled)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Baur, Max
ID Number
2013.0327.0087
catalog number
2013.0327.0087
accession number
2013.0327

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