Religion

One hallmark of the American experience captured in the Museum's collections is the nation's broad diversity of religious faiths. Artifacts range from Thomas Jefferson's Bible to a huge "Sunstone" sculpture carved for a Mormon temple in Illinois in 1844 to a household shrine from the home of a Pueblo Indian in the 1990s. Furniture, musical instruments, clothing, cooking ware, and thousands of prints and figures in the collections have all played roles in the religious lives of Americans. The most comprehensive collections include artifacts from Jewish and Christian European Americans, Catholic Latinos, Protestant Arab Americans, Buddhist and Christian Asian Pacific Americans, and Protestant African Americans. One notable group is the Vidal Collection of carved figures known as santos and other folk religious material from the practice of Santeria in Puerto Rico.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001C
catalog number
022467.0001C
accession number
22467
This black and white print is of a life membership to a Mr. Philip J.A. Harper issued by the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Description
This black and white print is of a life membership to a Mr. Philip J.A. Harper issued by the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Society, begun in 1820 and headquartered in New York City, was among the earliest organizations that focused on mission within and outside the United States. It initially worked to convert Native Americans and slaves before extending its activities to inhabitants of West Africa and elsewhere overseas.
A vignette depicting missionary activity appears above the text that was inspired by the Society’s proselytizing during the 19th Century. On the right side is a depiction of Native Americans and Africans who were “saved” due to the preaching of a missionary. The left side shows the damnation that comes to those who fail to hear God’s word. Above the scene floats a triumphant angel sent by God who is blowing a trumpet, Bible in hand.
This print was produced by Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888). Currier was the founder of the company that eventually became the Currier & Ives lithography firm. At the age of fifteen Currier apprenticed with the Pendleton lithography firm in New York City. Five years later he moved to Philadelphia to work with the lithographer M.E.D. Brown (1810-1896). After a year Currier moved back to New York, where he intended on going into business with one of the Pendleton brothers. Instead he formed a partnership in 1834 with Adam Stodart who was in the sheet music business. Within a year he opened his own lithography company on Wall Street and then moved to Nassau and Spruce. In 1852 a bookkeeper named James Merritt Ives joined the firm. He married Charles Currier’s sister-in-law and brought to the firm a critical eye and business acumen. In five years he had become a partner. Currier & Ives would become arguably the most successful and prodigious lithography firm of the 19th century. Although especially well known for prints celebrating American landscapes and pastimes like sailing and ice skating, Currier & Ives also produced lithographs that featured current events, social issues and political controversies
Location
Currently on loan
Date made
1848
issuer
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church
maker
Currier, Nathaniel
ID Number
DL.60.2929
catalog number
60.2929
accession number
228146
Thomas Moran etched this view of a mission church in New Mexico in 1881 after a photograph by friend and traveling companion William Henry Jackson (1843–1942). Moran had met Jackson in 1871 on Ferdinand V.
Description
Thomas Moran etched this view of a mission church in New Mexico in 1881 after a photograph by friend and traveling companion William Henry Jackson (1843–1942). Moran had met Jackson in 1871 on Ferdinand V. Hayden’s Yellowstone expedition, the first government-sponsored survey of that area. Jackson and Moran worked side by side recording views. While Moran’s paintings of the West made his reputation, fewer than one-fifth of his etchings depict Western or Mexican scenes. His signature “TYM” at lower left stands for Thomas “Yellowstone” Moran.
The church shown in this print was replaced by a stone building in the early 20th century, and the San Juan Pueblo recently changed its name to Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. It lies twenty-five miles north of Santa Fe.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1881
Associated Date
1881
graphic artist
Moran, Thomas
photographer
Jackson, William Henry
ID Number
GA.14750
catalog number
14750
accession number
94830
Drypoint with aquatint by Gene Kloss (1903-1996). Born Alice Geneva Glasier, Kloss changed her first name to a masculine variation of her middle name after her marriage to the writer Phillips Kloss.
Description
Drypoint with aquatint by Gene Kloss (1903-1996). Born Alice Geneva Glasier, Kloss changed her first name to a masculine variation of her middle name after her marriage to the writer Phillips Kloss. She hoped the change would benefit her artistic career by eliminating prejudiced views of her work as a woman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1930s
Associated Date
1957/8
graphic artist
Kloss, Gene
ID Number
GA.17578
catalog number
17578
accession number
159237
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001B
catalog number
022467.0001B
accession number
22467
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001D
catalog number
022467.0001D
accession number
22467
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001A
catalog number
22467.0001A
accession number
22467
La Malinche, the title of this lithograph, was the indigenous woman who translated for Cortés between Maya, Náhuatl, and Spanish during his first years in Mexico.
Description
La Malinche, the title of this lithograph, was the indigenous woman who translated for Cortés between Maya, Náhuatl, and Spanish during his first years in Mexico. Considered either as a traitor or a founding mother by some Mexicans, La Malinche was Cortés's lover and the mother of his favorite son Martín. She and Moctezuma are also central figures in the Matachines dances that are performed in Mexico and New Mexico. Originally commemorating the expulsion of the Moors from southern Spain in 1492, the dance was brought to Mexico where it was treated as a means for Christianizing native peoples. The historical figure of La Malinche, known in Spanish by the name Doña Marina, is also credited for playing an almost miraculous role in the early evangelization of central Mexico. This print, made by Jean Charlot in the 1933, shows a young girl in the role of La Malinche, holding a rattle or toy in one hand, and a sword in the other. Jean Charlot, a French-born artist, lived and studied in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s. He depicted stylized scenes from the daily life of Mexican workers, particularly indigenous women.
Description (Spanish)
La Malinche, título de esta litografía, fue la mujer indígena que interpretaba para Cortés entre los mayas, náhuatl y españoles durante sus primeros años en México. La Malinche, quien para algunos mexicanos es una traidora, mientras que otros la consideran la madre fundadora, fue la amante de Cortés y la madre de su hijo favorito, Martín. Ella y Moctezuma constituyen también los personajes centrales de las danzas matachines que se interpretan en México y Nuevo México. Al principio estas danzas conmemoraban la expulsión de los moros del sur de España, pero en 1492 cuando la danza llegó a México se la utilizó como medio para cristianizar a los pueblos nativos. Se le atribuye también a la figura histórica de La Malinche, conocida asimismo como Doña Marina, un desempeño casi milagroso dentro de la temprana evangelización de México. Esta ilustración, hecha por Jean Charlot en 1933, es la imagen de una niña representando a La Malinche, sosteniendo un sonajero o juguete en una mano y una espada en la otra. Jean Charlot fue un artista francés que vivió y estudió en México entre las décadas de 1920 y 1930, quien se dedicó a ilustrar escenas estilizadas de la vida diaria de los trabajadores mexicanos y en particular de las mujeres indígenas.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933
ID Number
GA.23401
catalog number
23401
accession number
299563
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1703
maker
L'Isle, Guillaume de
engraver
Guerard, Jr., Nicolas
ID Number
GA.24330
accession number
251,493
This color print is a full-length portrait of Joseph Smith (1805-1844) , standing in the woods preaching to a group of Native American Indians.
Description
This color print is a full-length portrait of Joseph Smith (1805-1844) , standing in the woods preaching to a group of Native American Indians. Smith was the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often referred to as Mormon Church) and translator of The Book of Mormon which he holds in his left hand. Joseph Smith believed that Native American Indians were descended from the Nephite and Lamanite peoples, whose stories are told in The Book of Mormon. There is little evidence that Smith himself preached to Native American tribes, however others did at his behest until government officials pushed missionaries off reservation land. Before Smith’s martyrdom and the subsequent migration of the Mormon peoples to Utah, Smith attempted unsuccessfully to obtain legal government licenses to share The Book of Mormon with Native American tribes forcefully removed to western territories.
This print was produced by Edward Williams Clay and Henry R. Robinson. Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857) was an American painter, illustrator, and printmaker born in Philadelphia. He attended law school but left the legal field to become an engraver. In the late 1820s, he worked on a series of stereotypical racist prints entitled Life in Philadelphia depicting African American life. He also created portraits and sheet music covers, but after 1831 he specialized in political cartoons. He moved from Philadelphia to New York City in 1837 and often worked with Henry R. Robinson. Failing eyesight eventually led Clay to give up art, and he again relocated, this time to Delaware, where he worked as a court clerk. He died of tuberculosis in New York in 1857.
Henry R. Robinson was a caricaturist and lithographer active in New York City from about 1831-1851. He was listed as a carver and gilder from 1833-34, as a caricaturist from 1836-43 and as a lithographer and print publisher from 1843-51. In 1842 he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books in his print and book shop. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1844
depicted
Smith, Joseph
publisher
S. Brannan & Co.
maker
Robinson, Henry R.
Clay, Edward Williams
ID Number
DL.60.3141
catalog number
60.3141
accession number
228146
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001E
catalog number
022467.0001E
accession number
22467
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1859
ID Number
DL.246429
catalog number
246429
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1830
ID Number
CL.219161
catalog number
219161
219161
accession number
40071
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1800
associated dates
1966 10 27 / 1966 10 27
ID Number
CL.294110.01
accession number
294110
catalog number
294110.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1815-1835
ID Number
CL.219167
accession number
40071
catalog number
219167
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1820
associated date
1850 - 1875
ID Number
CL.176381
catalog number
176381
176381
accession number
31785
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1820
associated date
1850 - 1875
ID Number
CL.176382
catalog number
176382
176382
accession number
31785
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1820
user; originator
Santa Ana Mission Church
ID Number
CL.176368
catalog number
176368
176368
accession number
31785
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1826-1855
ID Number
CL.219162
accession number
40071
catalog number
219162
Catechisms, are manuals and description of Catholic teaching. This Catecismo Mexicano, written by Padre Geronimo de Ripalda in 1556 in Spain, was the most often used to teach Catholicism, civics, religion in Mexico and to Native American communities.
Description
Catechisms, are manuals and description of Catholic teaching. This Catecismo Mexicano, written by Padre Geronimo de Ripalda in 1556 in Spain, was the most often used to teach Catholicism, civics, religion in Mexico and to Native American communities. This is a 1758 edition that was translated in Nauhatl, the Central Mexican Indian language by Padre Ignacio de Paredes and was printed in Mexico. Ortuno print of St. Francis on 3rd page. Information about Father Paredes written on cover and inside pages. Donated by Nicholas Leon (director of a museum in Mexico). Rebound with different cover.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1758
associated date
1758
ID Number
CL.202677.01
accession number
20119
catalog number
202677
accession number
1888.202677
catalog number
CL*202677
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th century
ID Number
CL.151899
accession number
24142
catalog number
151899
La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is the frightening figure of a heartbroken woman who drowned her children and haunts the night, especially by riversides.
Description
La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is the frightening figure of a heartbroken woman who drowned her children and haunts the night, especially by riversides. Her story is repeated to children throughout Latin America, with numerous versions circulating throughout Mexico and the American Southwest. She has been identified as the Aztec goddess Coatlicue, who, according to one legend, was heard weeping for her Aztec children on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Some identify her as the damned ghost of a poor woman from Ciudad Juárez, who stabbed her children and disposed of them in the Rio Grande in order to win the affection of a wealthy man. According to another legend, La Llorona is actually La Malinche, the crucial interpreter and lover of Hernán Cortés. After the fall of the Aztec capital, and having borne Cortés's first son, La Malinche was replaced by Cortés's first wife (who had been awaiting him in Cuba) and was hastily married off to one of his Spanish companions. La Malinche and La Llorona, whether considered as overlapping or totally separate figures, reappear frequently in Mexican popular culture, north and south of the border.
Description (Spanish)
La Llorona es la aterradora figura de una mujer acongojada de dolor que ahogó a sus hijos y desde entonces acecha por las noches, especialmente a orillas del río. Existen numerosas versiones de este cuento que se narra a los niños en Latinoamérica, circulando por todo México y el sudoeste americano. Se ha identificado al personaje como a la diosa azteca Coatlicue, a quien según cuenta la leyenda, se la escuchaba llorar por sus hijos aztecas en vísperas de la conquista española. Algunos la identifican como el fantasma condenado de una mujer pobre de Ciudad Juárez, quien apuñaló a sus hijos y los arrojó al río a fin de conquistar el amor de un hombre rico. De acuerdo a otra leyenda, La Llorona es en realidad la figura clave de La Malinche, intérprete y amante de Hernán Cortés. Después de la caída de la capital azteca, y habiendo dado a luz al primer hijo de Cortés, éste reemplazó a La Malinche por su primera esposa (quien lo había estado esperando en Cuba) y la casó precipitadamente con uno de sus compañeros españoles. La Malinche y La Llorona, ya sea que se las considere figuras superpuestas o totalmente separadas, reaparecen frecuentemente en la cultura popular mexicana, al norte y sur de la frontera.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1990 - 1991
maker
McFall, Jo Anne
ID Number
1991.0859.04
catalog number
1991.0859.04
accession number
1991.0859
This engraved woodblock of an "Iroquois Mask" was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Plate XXII.49 (p.
Description
This engraved woodblock of an "Iroquois Mask" was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Plate XXII.49 (p. 189) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs with an Inquiry into the Bearing of Their Geographical Distribution” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82. According to the annual report, the mask was “used by the order of ‘Falsefaces’.” Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881) was the original artist.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Dall, William H.
original artist
Morgan, L. H.
block maker
A. P. J. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.0437
accession number
1980.0219
catalog number
1980.0219.0437
This engraved woodblock of a “Haida medicine rattle” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate XXII.50 (p.189) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs w
Description
This engraved woodblock of a “Haida medicine rattle” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate XXII.50 (p.189) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs with an Inquiry into the Bearing of Their Geographical Distribution” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82. According to the annual report, the mask shows “the shaman, frog, and kingfisher with continuous tongues.” The image was drawn from a “specimen obtained by J. G. Swan [(1818-1900)] at Port Townsend, W. T. from a Queen Charlotte Island Haida.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Dall, William H.
ID Number
1980.0219.1294
catalog number
1980.0219.1294
accession number
1980.0219

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