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: Art

St. Augustin et Sa Mere Ste. Monique

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
graphic artist
Beaugrand, Achille Victor
original artist
Scheffer, Ary
publisher
Dusacq et Cie
printer
Chatain
ID Number
GA.15464
catalog number
15464
accession number
94830

Camp Meeting by Hugh Bridport (graphic artist) and Kennedy & Lucas after a painting by Alexander Rider

This black and white print depicts a large revival or camp meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century.
Description
This black and white print depicts a large revival or camp meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. 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 large crowd is gathered in the foreground. Some people are sitting on benches, while others are kneeling on the ground or standing listening to a preacher. The title is cut off. In the upper right corner, a newspaper clipping describing a revival meeting is affixed to the print.
This print was produced by Kennedy & Lucas and Hugh Bridport. from a drawing by Alexander Rider. Alexander Rider was a German or Swiss born artist, colorist and engraver. He is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and worked for the next two decades in Philadelphia as a book illustrator, miniature and portrait artist and painter specializing in historical themes. By 1830 he had begun doing lithographic prints for Kennedy and Lucas. He continued working in printing in the 1840s and produced plates for a book on American natural history.
William B. Lucas was a Philadelphia gilder who owned a looking glass and print shop. He established what was said to be the first commercial lithography firm in Philadelphia in 1828. Within a few months another gilder, David Kennedy, became a partner in the firm. The company continued until Lucas died in 1833. Alexander Rider was a German or Swiss born artist, colorist and engraver. He is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and worked for the next two decades in Philadelphia as a book illustrator, miniature and portrait artist and painter specializing in historical themes. By 1830 he had begun doing lithographic prints for Kennedy and Lucas. He continued working in printing in the 1840s and produced plates for a book on American natural history.
Hugh Bridport (1794-1870) was a London-born engraver, lithographer, portrait painter and architect, trained at the Royal Academy. In 1816, he joined his brother George in Philadelphia, where they successfully establish a business as artists as well as a drawing academy that operated for 6 years. Bridport was a founding member of the Franklin Institute, where he taught architectural drawing until 1833. He worked in the late 1820’s in the lithography trade with Kennedy & Lucas and other Philadelphia firms such as C. G. Childs and M. E. D. Brown. He became a US citizen in 1834.and exhibited paintings at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and Artist's Fund Society. In the 1860 census he is listed as a "gentleman" with a personal estate worth $15,000 and in the 1870 census, before he died, he was listed as a merchant.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1832
lithographer
Kennedy & Lucas
artist
Rider, Alexander
lithographic artist
Bridport, Hugh
ID Number
DL.60.2957
catalog number
60.2957
accession number
228146

An Oasis in a Buddhist Desert by Ellen Huntly Bullard Mason and Sarony & Major

This colored print depicts a mission school at the American Baptist Missionary Union in Moulmein (now Mawlamyine), British Burma. This former colony became an independent republic in 1948.
Description
This colored print depicts a mission school at the American Baptist Missionary Union in Moulmein (now Mawlamyine), British Burma. This former colony became an independent republic in 1948. The ruling military leadership changed the British name for the country to Myanmar in 1988. The scene includes dormitories, teachers' residences, and classroom buildings. A variety of palm trees and shrubs are scattered about the grounds and along a central dirt path.
This print was created by Mrs. H.B. Mason(artist) and produced by Sarony & Major. Ellen Huntly Bullard Mason was the wife of the missionary clergyman Frances Mason (1799-1874). Mrs. Mason wrote and illustrated works about her missionary activities in Burma, including efforts aimed at Burmese women.
Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) was born in Quebec and trained under several lithography firms, including Currier & Ives and H.R. Robinson. Sarony was also known for his successful experiments in early photography, and he eventually developed a cabinet-sized camera. In 1846, Sarony partnered with another former apprentice of Nathaniel Currier, Henry B. Major, and created Sarony & Major lithography firm. Joseph F. Knapp (1832-1891) joined the firm in 1857. Sarony, Major & Knapp earned a solid reputation for lithography, and the company was especially known for its fine art chromolithography. However, by the 1870s, the firm had shifted its focus to the more profitable area of advertising. It also expanded to become the conglomerate known as the American Lithographic Company, successfully producing calendars, advertising cards, and posters. In 1930 it was bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
publisher
Colby, Lewis
maker
Sarony & Major
artist
Mason, Mrs. H. B.
ID Number
DL.60.2488
catalog number
60.2488
accession number
228146

Christ Before Pilate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Bierstadt, Edward
ID Number
1983.0838.0034
accession number
1983.0838
catalog number
1983.0838.34

Virgin of Santa Rita de Cascia

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1830
ID Number
CL.219161
catalog number
219161
219161
accession number
40071

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1815-1835
ID Number
CL.219167
accession number
40071
catalog number
219167

Retablo del Santo Niño de Atoche

The image shown here represents El Santo Niño de Atoche, a depiction of the Christ child common throughout Mexico and the American Southwest. Made by Rafael Aragón in Santa Fe, this particular image is from a retablo, a kind of Catholic devotional art.
Description
The image shown here represents El Santo Niño de Atoche, a depiction of the Christ child common throughout Mexico and the American Southwest. Made by Rafael Aragón in Santa Fe, this particular image is from a retablo, a kind of Catholic devotional art. Aragón came from a family of santeros (religious artisans) who worked during the golden age of Spanish colonial art in New Mexico in the first part of the 1800s. In isolated communities where there were few priests, religious art within the home played a huge role in promoting Catholic beliefs and maintaining religious faith. When this retablo was made, between 1840 and 1850, New Mexico was the most populated region of Mexico's northern territories. Its ancient colonial history was shaped by violent contests over land, trade, and religion between Spanish settlers and various indigenous communities. The exchanges between these peoples, and then later, between immigrants from Mexico and the eastern United States, created several unique cultures in New Mexico. The phenomenon of tourism, beginning in the late 1800s, further transformed New Mexico and its art and craft traditions. Santeros and other artisans are still producing religious images like this retablo, though today many are valued for decorative rather than devotional use.
Description (Spanish)
Esta imagen representa a El Santo Niño de Atocha, un retrato del Niño Jesús muy habitual a lo largo de México y el sudoeste americano. Esta imagen en particular, elaborada por Rafael Aragón en Santa Fe, pertenece a un retablo, una manifestación del arte religioso católico. Aragón provenía de una familia de santeros (artesanos religiosos) que trabajaron durante la época dorada del arte colonial español en el Nuevo México a principios del 1800. En aquellas comunidades aisladas donde había tan solo unos pocos sacerdotes, el arte religioso doméstico desempeñaba una función preponderante para el fomento de las creencias católicas y la conservación de la fe. Este retablo data del período entre 1840 y 1850, en que Nuevo México era la región más poblada de los territorios del norte de México. Su antigua historia colonial se forjó entre violentas competencias por la tierra, el comercio y la religión entre los colonos españoles y las distintas comunidades indígenas. Los intercambios entre estos pueblos, y más tarde entre inmigrantes de México y del este de los Estados Unidos, generaron diversas culturas únicas dentro de Nuevo México. El fenómeno turístico, que se inició a fines de los 1800, transformó más aún a Nuevo México y a sus tradiciones artísticas y artesanales. Los santeros y otros artesanos aún producen imágenes religiosas como este retablo, si bien hoy en día muchas de ellas se valoran por sus cualidades decorativas más que por sus connotaciones religiosas.
Date made
1840 - 1850
artist
Aragon, Rafael
ID Number
CL.67.806
accession number
269937
catalog number
67.806

Retablo

Painted by an anonymous artist in New Mexico, this Catholic devotional image depicts the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe.According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to Juan Diego, a Christian Indian, on a hilltop near Mexico City in 1531.
Description
Painted by an anonymous artist in New Mexico, this Catholic devotional image depicts the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe.
According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to Juan Diego, a Christian Indian, on a hilltop near Mexico City in 1531. His vision of a dark-haired, brown-skinned Virgin Mary was popularized by Spanish missionaries seeking to convert Indians to Christianity. Over time, Our Lady of Guadalupe became a cherished symbol of Mexican and Latin American identity.
date made
ca 1698
ID Number
CL.200826
accession number
34005
catalog number
200826

San Ramon Nonatus

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1826-1855
ID Number
CL.219162
accession number
40071
catalog number
219162

Christ on the Cross with Burning Trees

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1870-1879
artist
Frequis, Pedro Antonio
maker
Frequis, Pedro Antonio
ID Number
CL.176399
catalog number
176399
accession number
31785

Mortar

Gothic-style, beaker-shaped bronze mortar with an applied square handle and three vertical ribs. The ribs extend from a horizontal rib just below the neck to a horizontal rib just above the base of the vessel.
Description
Gothic-style, beaker-shaped bronze mortar with an applied square handle and three vertical ribs. The ribs extend from a horizontal rib just below the neck to a horizontal rib just above the base of the vessel. Urdang believed this mortar to be of Germanic origin of the late 15th century.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0092
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05645
collector/donor number
SAP 357

Prescription Label, Lowenapotheke von Dr. Ph.J. Hainz

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1123
catalog number
1991.0664.1123
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Essen bei hermann Korte

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858-08-25
ID Number
1991.0664.1277
catalog number
1991.0664.1277
accession number
1991.0664

Votive Tabernacle Shrine

A tabernacle is a religious structure or shrine where one can place offerings such as a monetary donation or a symbolic gesture for a wish or as thanks for an answered prayer.This tabernacle shrine is a concave wooden form in the shape of an arch with rounded cusps and foils.
Description
A tabernacle is a religious structure or shrine where one can place offerings such as a monetary donation or a symbolic gesture for a wish or as thanks for an answered prayer.
This tabernacle shrine is a concave wooden form in the shape of an arch with rounded cusps and foils. The back of the wooden form is rough and looks as if it was meant be set into a niche. Two sheets of thin brass are molded and nailed to the top of the wooden form ending about two inches from the base. Inset into the arch at the top is a large repousse baroque shell. Below the shell is an apothecary cabinet created by a stamping technique, possibly repousse silver over brass.
The miniature apothecary has three sections of cabinets. The center cabinet protrudes (3 1/4") slightly. The cabinets are made of silver over brass with two round columns in the center. Apothecary jars sit on three rows of cabinets and four shelves. A decorative gallery extends across all three sections of the apothecary.
In the center of the tabernacle is the figure of Christ on the Cross made of molded silver over brass. Above the figure is a plaque engraved with the Latin initials "INRI", for Iesus Nazarenus Rex iudaeorum, in English, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
The nails that secure the shrine to the wooden “frame” appear to be modern, probably late 19th-century, suggesting the shrine was placed in the “frame” to keep it stable before being sold to collector Jo Mayer. There are no square holes in the wood which would indicate older nails.
George Urdang and F. W. Nitardy described the shrine in "The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue", as a “votive tabernacle shrine in the form of an ancient pharmacy . . . made in the moderate-baroque style of the middle 18th century . . . . The tabernacle was a gift from a grateful patient to a Bavarian cloister pharmacy. It is said to be the work of gold and silversmiths of Augsburg . . .” After close inspection, the gold colored metal appears to be brass, although the metalsmith did use silver over brass for the cabinets and apothecary jars.
It is interesting to note, in his article, “Rarities and Antiques in the Collection of Jo Mayer,” Ferchl writes that the shrine was procured "through various channels of the art trade into the haven of the Wiesbaden collection." Though obscure, this is the only reference found to date indicating how any of Mayer's collection were acquired.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1014
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06284
collector/donor number
SAP 976
catalog number
1991.0664.1014

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Solingen von G. Brinck

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1257
catalog number
1991.0664.1257
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Apotheke zu Wolfhagen von Carl Leister

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1110
catalog number
1991.0664.1110
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Zur Hirsch - Apotheke bei C. Schlienkamp

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1219
catalog number
1991.0664.1219
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Schwelm C. H. Petersen

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1216
catalog number
1991.0664.1216
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Apotheke von O van Baerle

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-10-21
ID Number
1991.0664.1330
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.1330

Prescription Label, G. Arvidsons Apothek i Abo

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1199
catalog number
1991.0664.1199
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Adler Apotheke Friedr. von Berg in Hilden

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plane and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plane and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1201
catalog number
1991.0664.1201
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Adler Apotheke bei With Kalker in Lobberich

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
19th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1183
catalog number
1991.0664.1183
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Steele

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858-11-09
ID Number
1991.0664.1205
catalog number
1991.0664.1205
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, L. Klonne in Mudheim

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1225
catalog number
1991.0664.1225
accession number
1991.0664

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