Religion

Page from the Koran

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.

Topic: Architecture

Ruins of Texas Mission

two men at left in slacks, white shirts, vests and hats; stone building with steeple at center topped with a cross; carving over main entryway is crumbly but once very intricate and ornateCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
two men at left in slacks, white shirts, vests and hats; stone building with steeple at center topped with a cross; carving over main entryway is crumbly but once very intricate and ornate
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850s-1860s
ID Number
2012.3033.0045
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0045

The Mosque of Oman

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-1927
maker
Petrocelli, Joseph
ID Number
PG.006024.30
accession number
224379
catalog number
6024.30

View of Orizaba, Mexico

View of Orizaba, Mexico; view overlooking red-clay tiled rooftops of a city, church steeple in backgroundCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
View of Orizaba, Mexico; view overlooking red-clay tiled rooftops of a city, church steeple in background
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870s
maker
Kilburn Brothers
ID Number
2012.3033.0165
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0165

Amiens Cathedral, France

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0647
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0647

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0615
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0615

Old stone walls of Avignon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
2012.0203.0091
accession number
2012.0203
catalog number
2012.0203.0091

Red Lion Camp Meeting by Alfred Thompson Scott (artist) and P.S. Duval and Company (lithographers)

This colored print depicts a large camp meeting in a clearing in the forest. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century. Lasting several days, these open-air events often involved ecstatic communal prayer.
Description
This colored print depicts a large camp meeting in a clearing in the forest. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century. Lasting several days, these open-air events often involved ecstatic communal prayer. Hundreds and even thousands came from miles around for preaching and worship, and to enjoy the festival-like atmosphere. A circle of many tents surrounds a vast congregation with a pulpit in the center next to the preacher's tent. On the outskirts are many carriages and people.
The Red Lion camp meeting was held August 6-14, 1853, near Red Lion, New Castle County, Delaware. This religious revival was organized by the Methodist Episcopal Church and was presided over by several of their circuit preachers from the Philadelphia Conference. These included Reverend A. Atwood, P.F. Rev. Thomas Sumption, and Reverend R. Owen and Bishop Levy Scott. Given that the artist was the son of one of the sponsors of the event, this image can serve as a documented eyewitness account. The list of ministers is listed in the caption below the image.
Alfred Thompson Scott (1831-1914), son of Levi Scott, Methodist Episcopal Bishop of Delaware, was the original artist. This appears to be his earliest work. Scott partnered with daguerreotypist Nelson Carlisle, became a drawing and painting instructor for Wilmington’s Wesleyan Female College, and became a minister.
This print was produced by P.S. Duval and Company, A.T. Scott and Cyrus Stern. Peter S. Duval (ca. 1804/05-1886) was a French lithographer who immigrated to Philadelphia in 1831 to work for the lithographic firm of Childs & Inman. In 1837, he established his own lithographic firm in Philadelphia. During the 1840s, the firm's products included advertisements, book and periodical illustrations, sheet music covers, maps and portraits. By the end of that decade, Duval was winning awards for his work in chromolithography. He was also among the first to introduce steam power to the process of lithography. His son Stephen Orr Duval joined the company in 1858. The company headquarters suffered a disastrous fire in 1856 and Duval declared financial insolvency in 1859. However, he was able to reestablish his business, and he continued working till his retirement in 1869.
Cyrus Stern (1818-1891) was this print’s publisher/copyriter as well as an author and composer of other works. He was headquartered on Market Street in Wilmington, Delaware.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1853
lithographer
P. S. Duval and Company
artist
Scott, Alfred T.
publisher
Stern, Cyrus
ID Number
DL.60.2966
catalog number
60.2966
accession number
228146

Church

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930-01-09
maker
Bucher, William F.
ID Number
1986.0711.0218
catalog number
1986.0711
1986.0711.0218

Japanese shrine

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860s
ID Number
2012.0203.0085
accession number
2012.0203
catalog number
2012.0203.0085

Personal Reel Mount

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
manufacturer
Sawyer's
VIEW-MASTER
ID Number
2015.0344.32.02
accession number
2015.0344
catalog number
2015.0344.32.02

Eglise de la Trinité

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868
maker
Quinet, Achille
ID Number
2012.0203.0108
catalog number
2012.0203.0108
accession number
2012.0203

64. The Cathedral, City of Mexico

date made
late 19th century
ID Number
2012.3033.4078
catalog number
2012.3033.4078
nonaccession number
2012.3033

Avignon from across the river

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
2012.0203.0090
accession number
2012.0203
catalog number
2012.0203.0090

No. 451, East Main Street, Norwich Flood

black and white stereograph mounted on orange cardstock; photograph by Edward Z. Webster; printed on verso "Webster's / Stereoscopic Views of the Great Flood, Mar. 26, 1876. / Norwich, during the Flood / No.
Description (Brief)
black and white stereograph mounted on orange cardstock; photograph by Edward Z. Webster; printed on verso "Webster's / Stereoscopic Views of the Great Flood, Mar. 26, 1876. / Norwich, during the Flood / No. 451, Shows both sides of East Main street, from Union street, to the Universalist Church, Franklin Square, and almost the entire street is under water. / Gallery, corner Main and Shetucket Sts., Norwich."; handwritten on verso "Lewis No 3"; flooded, unpaved street flanked by flooded building extends through center of image from foreground to background; at end of street is the Universalist Church; in the foreground, a large group of men have gathered on both sides of the street to pose for the photograph
date made
1876-03-26
ID Number
2012.3033.0721
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0721

Detail of Rheims Cathedral, France

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0616
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0616

Angel of Resurrection, Notre Dame Cathedral

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Negre, Charles
ID Number
PG.66.63.076
catalog number
66.63.76
accession number
265102

Notre Dame, Paris

Press print; photograph of Notre Dame Cathedral in ParisCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Press print; photograph of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0575
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0575

San Jose Rose Window

handwritten on verso "2m San Jose Window"; rose window from Mission San Jose in San AntonioCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
handwritten on verso "2m San Jose Window"; rose window from Mission San Jose in San Antonio
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850s-1860s
ID Number
2012.3033.0049
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0049

St. Pauls Church, Dedham

image of a stone church with pitched roof and multi-level spire next to front entrance; iron fence with stone supports out frontCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
image of a stone church with pitched roof and multi-level spire next to front entrance; iron fence with stone supports out front
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1800s
ID Number
2012.3033.0195
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0195

#10 Front of a church

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1987.0605.16
catalog number
1987.0605.16
accession number
1987.0605

Shakers, Their Mode of Worship by D.W. Kellogg and Company

This black and white print depicts four rows of men facing four rows of women dancing inside a Shaker meeting room.
Description
This black and white print depicts four rows of men facing four rows of women dancing inside a Shaker meeting room. Their arms are bent at waist height with hands extended as they advance towards each other and appear to be “shaking with fervor” and dancing, which was common with the group and how they got their nickname. They are all dressed simply and alike and are wearing caps, but the women on the end of each row have a small hand towel draped across their right forearms, perhaps to wipe their brows after the vigorous shakey dancing. The last row of men contains two African Americans and the people are of all shapes and sizes even if dressed alike. Cloaks and hats hang on pegs in the background. A women is seated in profile on a benchdepicted on the lower left. She appears to be wearing a cloak and large bonnet. On the lower right of the print is a bench holding a top hat and either a narrow cane or a rinding crop.
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, was a Protestant sect founded in England in 1747. Ann Lee (1736-1784) was the founder and leader of the American Shakers. The Shakers practiced communal living, where all property was shared. Simplicity in dress, speech, and manner were encouraged, as was living in rural colonies away from the corrupting influences of the cities. At their height, between 1830 -1860, about 6,000 Shaker brothers and sisters lived in more than 20 communities in the Northeast, Ohio, and Kentucky.
This print is identical to an earlier print by Anthony Imbert (circa 1826-1836) titled Shakers Near Lebanon, New York State and was based on an image by John Warner Barber. This print was published by the lithographic firm of D. W. Kellogg and Company. A later copy was produced by Nathaniel Currier. Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874) founded the company in Hartford, Connecticut in 1830. Even before its first retail store opened in 1834, the D.W. Kellogg & Co. lithography firm was well established and popular in United States, particularly in the South and the Southwest. As the founding member of the family company, Daniel Wright Kellogg was responsible for the initial growth and popularity of the firm. After he left the company, it continued to flourish for decades under his younger brothers and other family members.
Date made
ca 1838
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2965
catalog number
60.2965
accession number
228146

Churchyard founded by Cortez, Mexico

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870s
maker
Kilburn Brothers
ID Number
2012.3033.0146
nonaccession number
2012.3033
catalog number
2012.3033.0146

View of Villeneuve les Avignon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
2012.0203.0092
accession number
2012.0203
catalog number
2012.0203.0092

#7 Notre Dame

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1987.0605.06
accession number
1987.0605
catalog number
1987.0605.06

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.