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.

Date: 1890s

Tiffany vase

Translucent glass vase with motif of irregular swags. Favrile Glass. The body is of common amber bottle glass. Form: The body is of the double gourd shape, it has a large opening and no neck. Decorated with stripped leaf designs in blue, gray and red with an iridescent surface.
Description (Brief)
Translucent glass vase with motif of irregular swags. Favrile Glass. The body is of common amber bottle glass. Form: The body is of the double gourd shape, it has a large opening and no neck. Decorated with stripped leaf designs in blue, gray and red with an iridescent surface. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $25.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96422
catalog number
96422
accession number
30453
maker number
x 1212 (etched ?)

Tiffany vase

Favrile glass. Body is of light green glass. Form: shortened ovoid body with short large concave neck and flaring lip.
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass. Body is of light green glass. Form: shortened ovoid body with short large concave neck and flaring lip. Cover is shouldered on its lower side; top has a conical center trumpet shape and terminates in a tapering rod, its end looped back and bent partly around the shaft. Decorated with red-tinted grasses over the entire surface; iridescent. Purchased from Charles Tiffany for $70.00.
date made
1893-96
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96416ab
accession number
30453
catalog number
96416ab
maker number
x 856 (scratched)

knife, dinner; cutlery, set, part of

Dinner knife, part of a matching set (see 1986.0531.048 fork). Upturned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel.
Description
Dinner knife, part of a matching set (see 1986.0531.048 fork). Upturned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel. Horn scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with chamfered edges and blunt butt. Blade is discolored with some rust spots, horn is cracked and chipped around edges.
Blade is stamped: “SANDERSON/SHEARSTEEL”
Maker is possibly the Sanderson Brothers, active ca 1829-[unknown] in Sheffield, England.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860- 1890
ID Number
1986.0531.047
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.047

Cigarette Case

Silver-gilt or vermeil and polychrome enamel, clipped-corner, rectangular case with snap-closure, hinged lid featuring an imitation green agate border around an inset oval painting of a young couple in eighteenth-century dress in the woods, the man seated on a log at right plays
Description
Silver-gilt or vermeil and polychrome enamel, clipped-corner, rectangular case with snap-closure, hinged lid featuring an imitation green agate border around an inset oval painting of a young couple in eighteenth-century dress in the woods, the man seated on a log at right plays a pipe or flute while the woman dances; case sides and underside are engraved with bands of overlapping leaves and a large circular design. Notched tab at front center of lid. Gold washed interior. Outside front of box collar is struck incuse "ITALY" in sans serif letters and scratched with two sets of numbers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
post 1891
1872 - 1933
ID Number
DL.60.2010
catalog number
60.2010
accession number
200122

Flask

Flattened oval flask or pocket bottle with low relief, Nouveau-style japanesque designs of flowers and trailing streamers on both sides, the front additionally engraved "CB" in conjoined shaded script; topped by a twist-lock, mushroom- or button-shaped hinged cap.
Description
Flattened oval flask or pocket bottle with low relief, Nouveau-style japanesque designs of flowers and trailing streamers on both sides, the front additionally engraved "CB" in conjoined shaded script; topped by a twist-lock, mushroom- or button-shaped hinged cap. Neck exterior is struck incuse with a left-facing winged lion passant holding a "W" in oval, "STERLING" in sans serif letters, and "2345".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ca 1887
maker
Whiting Manufacturing Co.
ID Number
DL.61.1064
catalog number
61.1064
accession number
233749

Minton parian porcelain pâte-sur-pâte vase (one of a pair)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1870-1904
date made
c. 1898
ID Number
CE.P-984
catalog number
P-984
accession number
225282

Tortoiseshell Card Case

This is a tortoiseshell calling card case from the mid-1800s. It was most likely used by a woman to keep the calling cards she would leave when making house calls to friends or family.
Description
This is a tortoiseshell calling card case from the mid-1800s. It was most likely used by a woman to keep the calling cards she would leave when making house calls to friends or family. Calling cards were prevalent during the Victorian era and were often displayed in decorative receivers (or trays) near the front entry of one’s home.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1890
ID Number
1982.0286.03
accession number
1982.0286
catalog number
1982.0286.3

saucer

This saucer depicting "The Government Building" and "The Fisheries Building" was most likely from a display at the World's Columbian Exposition.Currently not on view
Description
This saucer depicting "The Government Building" and "The Fisheries Building" was most likely from a display at the World's Columbian Exposition.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897
ID Number
CE.379494
catalog number
379494
accession number
150313

knife, dessert

Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel. Wooden scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with straight sides and a blunt butt.
Description
Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel. Wooden scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with straight sides and a blunt butt. Metal is heavily discolored with spots of rust. Wood is cracked on one side. Brass pins are corroded.
Blade is stamped: “HARGREAVES/SMITH&Co/BEST CAST STEEL”
Maker is Hargreaves, Smith & Company, active in Sheffield, England ca 1866-1920.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1866- 1890
ID Number
1986.0531.034
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.034

Tiffany vase

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96425ab
catalog number
96425ab
accession number
30453
maker number
x 1255 (etched)
catalog number
96425

Salt Dish Holder

Circular piercework salt cellar or dish holder having a seamed, dot-and-dash-patterned frame to which are attached three, straight tapered, fluted legs and pendant floral swags held up by a central tassel.
Description
Circular piercework salt cellar or dish holder having a seamed, dot-and-dash-patterned frame to which are attached three, straight tapered, fluted legs and pendant floral swags held up by a central tassel. Exterior of each leg is struck with a different mark, a circle with Minerva head in profile facing left with "P" in helmet, a raised gothic or Old English "F" in a circle, and a lion passant facing right above "2" in an elongated hexagon, which is partially overstruck at end near bottom with a tiny key. No maker's mark seen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
ID Number
DL.382000
catalog number
382000
accession number
162081

knife, dinner

Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered block handle with faceted sides and a blunt butt. Tang is held in place with a single brass pin. Metal is scratched with minor discoloration.
Description
Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered block handle with faceted sides and a blunt butt. Tang is held in place with a single brass pin. Metal is scratched with minor discoloration. Brass is corroded.
Blade is stamped: “V [crown] R/JOHN ASKHAM/SHEFFIELD”
Maker is Frost, Askham & Mosforth, manufacturers active in Sheffield, England and New York ca 1820-1900.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1837- 1890
ID Number
1986.0531.035
accession number
1987.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.035

Salt Dish

Open, oval cylindrical piercework salt on four ball feet with a clear, cobalt blue glass liner.
Description
Open, oval cylindrical piercework salt on four ball feet with a clear, cobalt blue glass liner. Flat frame for bottom is struck on underside between two feet "EPNS" to the left of three marks, a Prince of Wales feathers, a gondolier in gondola, and the raised gothic or Old English letters "D", "&", "S", all in individual clipped-corner surrounds; "3548" is stamped between the opposite two feet.
Maker is Deykin & Sons at the Venetian Works, Birmingham, England; partnership active, 1854-1895, and specialized in producing electroplated wares which they marketed as Venetian Silver.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1892-1895
ID Number
1977.0918.10
catalog number
1977.0918.10
accession number
1977.0918

Portrait miniature of John W. Griggs

Oval bust-length portrait of a man with hazel eyes and dark hair graying at the temple, turned and looking to the viewer's left. He wears a white wingtip collar, white-dotted maroon knotted tie with gold stick pin, and gray buttoned coat.
Description
Oval bust-length portrait of a man with hazel eyes and dark hair graying at the temple, turned and looking to the viewer's left. He wears a white wingtip collar, white-dotted maroon knotted tie with gold stick pin, and gray buttoned coat. Brown to gray-blue shaded background; light is from left. Signed near center right. Modern housing includes a shallow convex lens and matte gilt case with rounded bezel and ball-and-ring hanger; case reverse is covered in blue velvet with two circles of red velvet. Case not original. Hangs in a red velvet-covered display frame fitted to hold eight miniatures, 1989.0343.16-.23.
Artist is Isabelle Victoria Hayward (1868-1967) of New York, NY, and Paterson (Manchester), Passaic, NJ.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
1989.0343.23
catalog number
1989.0343.23
accession number
1989.0343

Cigarette Case

Slim, rectangular case with identical, polychrome painted and basse-taille enamel decoration on the snap-closure, hinged lid and bottom, consisting of an oval reserve framed by a translucent orange, clipped-corner, concave-sided rectangle and opaque dark blue triangles; reserve o
Description
Slim, rectangular case with identical, polychrome painted and basse-taille enamel decoration on the snap-closure, hinged lid and bottom, consisting of an oval reserve framed by a translucent orange, clipped-corner, concave-sided rectangle and opaque dark blue triangles; reserve on lid features a pastoral scene of a man seated on the ground and admiring a half-clothed woman asleep at his feet, while that on bottom has an opaque white border and additional orange basse-taille enamel. Reverse-cyma tab at front center of lid. Gold washed interior. Outside front of box collar is struck "[G]ERMAN[Y]".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
post 1891
ID Number
DL.60.2008
catalog number
60.2008
accession number
200122

Minton parian porcelain pâte-sur-pâte vase and cover (one of a pair)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1890
ID Number
CE.P-987ab
catalog number
P-987ab
accession number
225282

Tiffany vase

Body is common yellow or amber bottle glass, out surface somewhat deadened; over this transparent waved lines pass around the body. Decorations like brown seaweeds were made before the surface was deadened. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $12.00.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Body is common yellow or amber bottle glass, out surface somewhat deadened; over this transparent waved lines pass around the body. Decorations like brown seaweeds were made before the surface was deadened. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $12.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96412
catalog number
96412
maker number
x-739 (etched)
accession number
30453

Mary Louis McLaughlin plate

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 pink-rimmed plate was decorated by American ceramics innovator Mary Louis McLaughlin. Historians generally acknowledge McLaughlin as being the first American ceramics decorator to develop the technique for underglaze slip decoration. Influenced by the Haviland & Co. porcelain at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, McLaughlin allegedly recreated the complex technique in less than three months in 1877.
Before McLaughlin’s experimentation, underglaze ceramic decoration was limited to the five high-firing colors that can withstand the blazing temperatures of the kiln: cobalt blue, manganese purple, copper green, antimony yellow, and iron brown. Her innovations allowed McLaughlin to explore a new range of colors for her wares, including the delicate shell pink on this plate.
Although Victorian women were still culturally expected to fulfill duties in the home, the Arts and Crafts movement saw a surge of women playing prominent roles in the decorative arts. Like her colleagues Adelaide Alsop Robineau and Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, McLaughlin was a prominent woman ceramicist whom her contemporaries recognized during her lifetime; celebrated furniture designer Gustav Stickley featured several articles about her work in his journal, The Craftsman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1895-1898
ID Number
CE.74.157
catalog number
74.157
accession number
314609

Silver Filigree Basket

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800- 1899
previous owner
Pell, Alfred Duane
ID Number
DL.60.0348
catalog number
60.0348
accession number
225828

Minton parian porcelain pâte-sur-pâte vase (one of a pair)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1870-1904
date made
c. 1898
ID Number
CE.P-985
catalog number
P-985
accession number
225282

knife, dinner

Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a conical horn handle with a pointed iron pommel. Blade is scratched, discolored, and has some rust spots.
Description
Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a conical horn handle with a pointed iron pommel. Blade is scratched, discolored, and has some rust spots. Horn is scratched, with crack on one side near bolster.
Blade is stamped: “W. R/HUMPHREYS&COMPY/CUTLERS SHEFFIELD”
Maker is W. R. Humphreys & Company, active ca 1875-present in Sheffield, England.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875- 1890
ID Number
1986.0531.051
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.051

Butter Knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
DL.382086B
catalog number
382086B
accession number
162081

Tea Strainer

Small, floral repousse-decorated globular pot pierced with small holes arranged into a diamond or lozenge shape at bottom. Suspended from a split-pin spring hooked through the small twisted loop at center of the wire bail handle. Spring struck on one arm "S.
Description
Small, floral repousse-decorated globular pot pierced with small holes arranged into a diamond or lozenge shape at bottom. Suspended from a split-pin spring hooked through the small twisted loop at center of the wire bail handle. Spring struck on one arm "S. KIRK & SON" and "11 OZ", both in raised serif letters in rectangles.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868 - 1896
ID Number
DL.68.0461
catalog number
68.0461
accession number
274913

Tiffany vase

Favrile glass. Made of mixed opaque brown, shades of red, and cream colored glasses, something like banded agate. form: A rather deep flaring body. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $20.00.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass. Made of mixed opaque brown, shades of red, and cream colored glasses, something like banded agate. form: A rather deep flaring body. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $20.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893-96
1893- 96
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96426
catalog number
96426
accession number
30453
maker number
4066

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