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.

This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut.
Description
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095321.02
catalog number
95321.02
accession number
26410
This hornpipe was made by an unknown maker in Italy, around 1875-1890. It is a cane reed with a bell of chestnut bark wound in a spiral.
Description
This hornpipe was made by an unknown maker in Italy, around 1875-1890. It is a cane reed with a bell of chestnut bark wound in a spiral. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095322
accession number
26410
catalog number
95322
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut.
Description
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095321.01
catalog number
95321.01
accession number
26410
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
original artist
Allori, Cristofano
graphic artist
Lasinio, Giovanni Paolo
ID Number
GA.14233.29
accession number
94830
catalog number
14233.29
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
original artist
Le Sueur, Eustache
graphic artist
Morelli, Stanislao
ID Number
GA.14233.27
accession number
94830
catalog number
14233.27
Weather forecasting, like air traffic controlling, can at times be an unnerving occupation.
Description
Weather forecasting, like air traffic controlling, can at times be an unnerving occupation. Dramatic changes in weather patterns have the potential to affect millions of people, as do warnings issued by the National Weather Service, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Robert Ricks, chief NWS forecaster on duty at the Slidell, Louisiana weather station the morning of August 28, studied the computer maps of Hurricane Katrina's movement across the Gulf of Mexico. At 10:11 that morning, he quickly composed an urgent and unambiguous weather alert, what became the most accurate prediction of Katrina's impact. "A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH . . ." it began. "MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS . . . PERHAPS LONGER . . . ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL . . . ALL WOOD-FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED . . . WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS . . . NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED . . . LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED . . . "
To comfort him during his forecasting assignment that day, and in the chaotic days immediately after, Ricks carried this Catholic rosary given to him by his grandmother. He later donated it to the Smithsonian as a symbol of his own perilous journey through the arms of Hurricane Katrina.
Location
Currently not on view
Associated Date
August - September 2005
user
Ricks, Robert
referenced
National Weather Service
ID Number
2006.0220.01
accession number
2006.0220
catalog number
2006.0220.01
The civilizations of pre-Hispanic Mexico recorded their histories, religious beliefs, and scientific knowledge in books called codices. Codices are folded pieces of hide or bark that depict both mundane and spiritual scenes with images, symbols, and numbers.
Description
The civilizations of pre-Hispanic Mexico recorded their histories, religious beliefs, and scientific knowledge in books called codices. Codices are folded pieces of hide or bark that depict both mundane and spiritual scenes with images, symbols, and numbers. Scribes and painters busily recorded daily affairs, filling libraries and temples with books throughout Mexico and Central America. The majority of these illustrated books did not survive the Spanish conquest. But indigenous scribes trained by Spanish missionaries continued writing. While these colonial-era texts were still filled with pictures, over time they referenced the visual language of older Mexican and Maya books less and less. These new books about community histories (including land titles) and secret religious traditions were sometimes bilingual, combining Spanish with either Náhautl (the common language of central Mexico) or a Mayan language, both of which were now written with the Latin alphabet. This image is from an Italian reproduction of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, a manuscript co-written by Spanish friar Pedro de los Ríos about 1550. It documents the religious beliefs, calendar system, traditions, and history of the Tolteca-Chichimeca culture of Central Mexico. Joseph Florimond, Duc de Loubat, (1837–1921) was an American philanthropist who published a series of reproductions of pre-Hispanic and colonial-era Mexican manuscripts, including the Codex Telleriano-Remensis. The Graphic Arts Collection of the National Museum of American History houses several reproductions of Mesoamerican codices published for study by French, German, and Italian scholars at the turn of the 20th century.
Description (Spanish)
Las civilizaciones del México prehispano registraron sus historias, creencias religiosas y conocimientos científicos en libros denominados códices. Los códices son piezas plegadas de cuero o corteza que describen tanto escenas mundanas como espirituales mediante imágenes, símbolos y números. Escribas y pintores registraron afanosamente asuntos de la vida diaria, llenando bibliotecas y templos con libros en todo México y América Central. La mayoría de estos libros ilustrados no sobrevivieron a la conquista española. Pero los escribas indígenas adiestrados por misioneros españoles continuaron escribiendo. Mientras que estos textos de la época colonial aún se observan plenos de imágenes, con el tiempo fueron dejando de hacer referencia al lenguaje visual de los antiguos libros mexicanos y mayas. Estos nuevos libros sobre historias de la comunidad (incluyendo títulos territoriales) y sobre tradiciones religiosas secretas a menudo eran bilingües, combinando español con náhuatl (la lengua común a la región de México central) o con una lengua maya, ambas ya escritas con el alfabeto latino. Esta imagen pertenece a una reproducción italiana del Codex Telleriano-Remensis, manuscrito con cuya escritura colaboró el fraile español Pedro de los Ríos alrededor de 1550. Se documentan en él las creencias religiosas, el sistema calendario, las tradiciones y la historia de la cultura Tolteca-Chichimeca de México Central. Joseph Florimond, Duc de Loubat, (1837-1921) fue un filántropo norteamericano que publicó una serie de reproducciones de manuscritos de la época prehispánica y colonial de México, incluyendo el Codex Telleriano-Remensis. La Colección de Artes Gráficas del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana alberga varias reproducciones de los códices mesoamericanos publicados para su estudio por eruditos franceses, alemanes e italianos a principios del siglo XX.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1900
Associated Date
1900
publisher
Duc de Loubat
ID Number
2006.0226.37
catalog number
09449
2006.0226.37
accession number
2006.0226
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date published
1850 or later
inscribed date
1872-06-19
1889-12-25
1898
printer
Eyre and Spottiswoode
ID Number
DL.033666
catalog number
033666
accession number
70138
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1983.0838.0063
accession number
1983.0838
catalog number
1983.0838.63
Though this country was founded in part by European religious communities rebelling against an ornate and hierarchical Catholic faith to which they had been forced to adhere, this trunk reminds us of other Catholics adhering to a simpler monastic life.
Description
Though this country was founded in part by European religious communities rebelling against an ornate and hierarchical Catholic faith to which they had been forced to adhere, this trunk reminds us of other Catholics adhering to a simpler monastic life. Isolated from their roots, many gave themselves over to the priesthood, meditation, and social work in a communitarian environment. This plain trunk is a pine chest painted blue, with iron fittings suggestive of New England Shaker furnishings. In fact it belonged to the Italian parents of a Dominican Sister who joined the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Oullins, France. In America, she and another woman founded the first Dominican monastery in 1880 in the United States, the Monastery of Saint Dominic in Newark, New Jersey. This trunk is one of a several items received from the monastery, all demonstrating a simplicity of lifestyle, devoid of ornamentation.
The Dominican nuns were founded by Saint Dominic in 1207, just prior to his foundation of the Order of Friars Preachers. It was his wish that the nuns should share in the preaching mission of the friars. They participate in the preaching of the Word by living their contemplative vocation and studying the Word of God. Today, Dominican nuns follow that same path in many countries throughout the world. The two American women who founded the Newark monastery in 1880 (and subsequently other Dominican monasteries across the United States), demonstrated an independence that also corresponded with the widening general push for increased autonomy and voice by American women in the same era.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1880
user
Monastery of St. Dominic
ID Number
CL.314563.01
accession number
314563
catalog number
314563.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CL.311824
accession number
64443
catalog number
311824
This cylindrical tin-glazed apothecary jar with a straight wall and a flat shoulder is divided into three sections depicting different religious scenes. One section portrays Saint Jerome dressed in magnesium colored robes praying before a cross, and human skull mounted on rocks.
Description (Brief)
This cylindrical tin-glazed apothecary jar with a straight wall and a flat shoulder is divided into three sections depicting different religious scenes. One section portrays Saint Jerome dressed in magnesium colored robes praying before a cross, and human skull mounted on rocks. In the second section Saint Jerome again? is seen with angles peering down from the heavens. The saint in kneeling before a table covered with a green cloth. Behind him is a balustrade with a vase of flowers. The third section depicts Mary and Joseph walking with Jesus as a little boy. Each section is divided by yellow and blue vertical bands and green leaves. Above the shoulder are several bands of interconnecting scroll designs.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1625 - 1675
ID Number
1991.0664.0524
catalog number
M-05736
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 448
This yellow, cobalt blue and green waisted drug jar has an oval medallion with a white robed saint is surrounded by foiliage and bands of geometric designs at the shoulders.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This yellow, cobalt blue and green waisted drug jar has an oval medallion with a white robed saint is surrounded by foiliage and bands of geometric designs at the shoulders.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1600
ID Number
1991.0664.0547
catalog number
M-05759
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 471
catalog number
1991.0664.0547
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
ID Number
1991.0717.03
catalog number
1991.0717.03
accession number
1991.0717
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
depicted
Saint Anthony
Jesus Christ
manufacturer
Reed Candle Company
maker
Reed Candle Company
ID Number
1991.0718.01
catalog number
1991.0718.01
accession number
1991.0718
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
ID Number
1991.0717.02
catalog number
1991.0717.02
accession number
1991.0717
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1990
manufacturer
L. B. I.
ID Number
1991.0717.04
catalog number
1991.0717.04
accession number
1991.0717
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
ID Number
1991.0717.06
catalog number
1991.0717.06
accession number
1991.0717
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
manufacturer
Reed Candle Company
maker
Reed Candle Company
ID Number
1991.0718.02
catalog number
1991.0718.02
accession number
1991.0718
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
depicted
Virgin of Guadalupe
maker
unknown
ID Number
1991.0773.02
catalog number
1991.0773.02
accession number
1991.0773

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