Domestic Furnishings

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.

Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with high collar pinched into spout at front and sloped at back for the rounded inset lid; molded lower rim and base. Hooked tab thumb piece with wedge extension; seven-knuckle hinge has domed-end hinge pin; stepped thumbrest.
Description
Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with high collar pinched into spout at front and sloped at back for the rounded inset lid; molded lower rim and base. Hooked tab thumb piece with wedge extension; seven-knuckle hinge has domed-end hinge pin; stepped thumbrest. Stamped on front of body "DEMI LITRE" in incuse serif letters; on front of lower rim with "3" next to clasped hands in an oval; on face of handle and top of lid with clasped hands mark; and on extension and to left of handle with nine letter verification marks. Underside of flat bottom struck with three touchmarks, twice with "AIC" in an imperial crown over a Tudor rose and once below with "F.BOULANGET" in incuse serif letters. One of an assembled set of six metric measures, DL*67.0334-.0339.
Maker is F. Boulanget, possibly in France or Flanders.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
DL.67.0336
catalog number
67.0336
accession number
250853
Small inverted trumpet shape lidded flagon engraved on front "=M-H=" above a pointed-bottom, scalloped shield containing an illegible design; no spout. Flat lid with applied disk on top; inside of lid has three concentric circles.
Description
Small inverted trumpet shape lidded flagon engraved on front "=M-H=" above a pointed-bottom, scalloped shield containing an illegible design; no spout. Flat lid with applied disk on top; inside of lid has three concentric circles. Angular strap handle has beaded, angled tab thumb piece and cast pendant drop at the lower terminal; five-knuckle hinge. Plouk or pimple inside body below rim indicating capacity level. Face of handle struck with a checkered octagon and clipped-corner rectangle containing the raised serif letters "MH" over an ewer or pitcher in a basin. Bottom center appears to be replaced with one bearing the pot touch of a rose.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
DL.67.0423
catalog number
67.0423
accession number
269249
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1820
ID Number
CE.P-576Fab
catalog number
P-576Fab
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early nineteenth century
ID Number
CE.P-97ab
catalog number
P-97ab
accession number
225282
Variation of Picardie Type I lidded and spouted, tall conical flagon or pichet with molded rim and base, convex grooved shell thumb piece, and flat-top, cyma-curved, pouted lid. Strap handle with ridged thumbrest and short square terminal; five-knuckle hinge.
Description
Variation of Picardie Type I lidded and spouted, tall conical flagon or pichet with molded rim and base, convex grooved shell thumb piece, and flat-top, cyma-curved, pouted lid. Strap handle with ridged thumbrest and short square terminal; five-knuckle hinge. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.67.0292
catalog number
67.0292
accession number
250853
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
The French firm, Verrerie de Clichy, began operation after merging with another local glassworks in 1837. The height of paperweight production at the firm was 1846 to 1857.
This Clichy paperweight features concentric rings of millefiori and a “C” signature cane. Millefiore paperweights, first manufactured in Venice, consist of sections from rods of colored glass encased in a clear, colorless sphere. By the mid-nineteenth century, glass factories elsewhere in Europe were emulating the millefiore style.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1845-1850
maker
Clichy
ID Number
CE.66.74
catalog number
66.74
collector/donor number
174
accession number
268356
Northern French or Flemish type lidded and spouted pear-shape or baluster flagon on an applied flared base. Molded lid is topped by a pimple knop and covers the inset, curved spout.
Description
Northern French or Flemish type lidded and spouted pear-shape or baluster flagon on an applied flared base. Molded lid is topped by a pimple knop and covers the inset, curved spout. Plain strap handle has a convex double shell thumb piece and short square terminal; five-knuckle hinge. Bottom underside struck with two touchmarks, the raised serif letters "C•D" in a crown over a Tudor rose and a sawtooth-bordered horizontal oval with a brimmed hat against two crossed objects over the raised serif letters "C•D".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th century
ID Number
DL.67.0272
catalog number
67.0272
accession number
250853
Small flagon or pichet with double-acorn thumb piece and wedge extension; stamped twice with a raised serif "M" inside a square on the outside of the heart-shaped, pouted lid. Baluster body with plain, flared rim and incised, flared base.
Description
Small flagon or pichet with double-acorn thumb piece and wedge extension; stamped twice with a raised serif "M" inside a square on the outside of the heart-shaped, pouted lid. Baluster body with plain, flared rim and incised, flared base. Strap handle with short terminal.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1700-1750
ID Number
DL.67.0258
catalog number
67.0258
accession number
250853
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1811
ID Number
CE.P-582ab
catalog number
P-582ab
accession number
225282
The compote bowl comes from a service that Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) gave to his sister Pauline (1780-1825) when she established a home in Paris at the hôtel de Charost.
Description
The compote bowl comes from a service that Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) gave to his sister Pauline (1780-1825) when she established a home in Paris at the hôtel de Charost. The pale lilac used as a ground color was fashionable in post-revolutionary France, a time when interior designers experimented with new and unusual colors and color combinations, and one of the boudoirs in the hôtel de Charost was painted in a similar color. The figure subjects are painted in brown and highlighted in gold on a ground painted to imitate marble. On one side the subject appears to be Mars the god of war with helmet, club, and vulture at his feet, his chariot drawn by three hybid monsters, but we see also the attributes of other gods like Mercury's staff, and neptunes trident. On the other side of the bowl the subject of a female figure in a chariot drawn by cupids holding flaming torches is also not clear. Two Roman heads in profile are painted on medallions with marble grounds, and framed by gold stars, purple beads and foliate ornament.
The compote's light lilac ground has dark purple ornament painted in overglaze enamel. A Greek key pattern circles the bowl below the rim, and a foliate frieze circles the base of the bowl where it meets the foot. The foot stem supporting the bowl is heavily gilded, and a band of gold circles the interior of the compote, which is otherwise left undecorated.
See Liana Paredes, 2009, exhibition catalog “Sèvres Then and Now: Tradition and Innovation in Porcelain, 1750-2000”, p.73, p.148.
This compote 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.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1805
ID Number
CE.P-778B
catalog number
P-778B
accession number
225282
Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with high collar pinched into spout at front and sloped at back for the rounded inset lid; molded lower rim and base. Hooked tab thumb piece with wedge extension; five-knuckle hinge.
Description
Bracket-handled, cylindrical metric measure with high collar pinched into spout at front and sloped at back for the rounded inset lid; molded lower rim and base. Hooked tab thumb piece with wedge extension; five-knuckle hinge. Stamped on front of body "DECILITRE" in incuse serif letters; on front of lower rim with "** / 3" next to clasped hands in an oval; on face of handle and top front of lid with clasped hands mark; and on extension and top of rim with an indecipherible number of letter verification marks. Underside of flat bottom struck once with arched touchmark "ALBERT" in incuse serif letters. One of an assembled set of six metric measures, DL*67.0334-.0339.
Maker is Albert of Lille.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
ID Number
DL.67.0338
catalog number
67.0338
accession number
250853
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1831
ID Number
CE.P-804D
catalog number
P-804D
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1820
ID Number
CE.P-576D
catalog number
P-576D
accession number
225282
French thread serving spoon having a large, pointed oval bowl and long, upturned fiddle handle with shallow concave shoulders double struck (pattern on front and back) with a tipped thread border; gothic or Old English "E" engraved lengthwise on terminal back.
Description
French thread serving spoon having a large, pointed oval bowl and long, upturned fiddle handle with shallow concave shoulders double struck (pattern on front and back) with a tipped thread border; gothic or Old English "E" engraved lengthwise on terminal back. Back of shaft struck with three marks (all facing terminal): a rising sun above "P / L \ B" in diamond or lozenge; crowing cock with body facing right and "1" at lower right in clipped-corner vertical rectangle; and classical male head affronté flanked by "85" in oval. One of two spoons, DL.300475A-B, with same monogram but by different makers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1798 - 1809
ID Number
DL.300475A
catalog number
300475A
accession number
61510
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1860
previous owner
Pell, Alfred Duane
ID Number
DL.60.0352
catalog number
60.0352
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1838
1838
ID Number
CE.P-123
catalog number
P-123
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.
c. 1815
ID Number
CE.P-579Cab
catalog number
P-579Cab
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1808
maker
Sevres
ID Number
CE.P-1054A
catalog number
P-1054A
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1834
maker
Sevres
ID Number
CE.P-1057
catalog number
P-1057
accession number
225282
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
The French firm, Baccarat, was originally founded as the Verrerie Renaut in 1764, by request of the Bishop of Metz to the King of France, Louis XV. After the French Revolution, the company was re-named Verrerie de Baccarat. Peak production of Baccarat paperweights was between 1846 and1855.
This Baccarat paperweight features a pink pompom and a garland of millefiori with a star-cut base. Millefiore paperweights, first manufactured in Venice, consist of sections from rods of colored glass encased in a clear, colorless sphere. By the mid-nineteenth century, glass factories elsewhere in Europe were emulating the millefiore style.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1845-1850
maker
Baccarat
ID Number
CE.67.241
accession number
213138
catalog number
67.241
Right-angled, stepped billet bar on three legs; extends to the viewer's left. Slot at front receives bracket of andiron DL*329490A or B. No marks. Log stop missing. One of a pair of billet bars with andirons, DL*329490A-D.Currently not on view
Description
Right-angled, stepped billet bar on three legs; extends to the viewer's left. Slot at front receives bracket of andiron DL*329490A or B. No marks. Log stop missing. One of a pair of billet bars with andirons, DL*329490A-D.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
DL.329490C
catalog number
329490C
accession number
87896
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
Glass production at Saint Louis was authorized by Louis XV in 1767. By 1782 the firm was creating high quality glass crystal, progressing into pressed glass in the 1800s. St. Louis produced paperweights from 1845 to about 1867.
A blue, double Clematis is suspended over a ground formed by an overlay of amber-colored glass in this faceted St. Louis paperweight.
date made
1845-1867
maker
St. Louis
ID Number
CE.60.111
catalog number
60.111
accession number
211475
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1815
ID Number
CE.P-90
catalog number
P-90
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1832
maker
Sevres
ID Number
CE.P-1056C
catalog number
P-1056C
accession number
225282

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