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.

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
1862
ID Number
1991.0664.1334
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.1334
Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andreae (1724-1793) was a natural scientist, proprietor of a pharmacy in Hanover, and correspondent with many prominent men of his day. This portrait was engraved by Johann Philipp Ganz, engraver to the King of Hannover.Currently not on view
Description
Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andreae (1724-1793) was a natural scientist, proprietor of a pharmacy in Hanover, and correspondent with many prominent men of his day. This portrait was engraved by Johann Philipp Ganz, engraver to the King of Hannover.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1786
ID Number
1991.0664.0045
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 914
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
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1103
catalog number
1991.0664.1103
accession number
1991.0664
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1945
1944-1945
maker
Steinbrenner, Carl
Steinbrenner, Carl
ID Number
1994.0334.06
catalog number
1994.0334.06
accession number
1994.0334
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
1991.0664.1255
catalog number
1991.0664.1255
accession number
1991.0664
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
1991.0664.1158
catalog number
1991.0664.1158
accession number
1991.0664
Etching of Wolffgang Stoberlein (1589-1646), a German apothecary.Currently not on view
Description
Etching of Wolffgang Stoberlein (1589-1646), a German apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
depicted
Stoberlein, Wolffgang
ID Number
1991.0664.0057
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06203
collector/donor number
SAP 896
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
1991.0664.1175
catalog number
1991.0664.1175
accession number
1991.0664
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
1991.0664.1198
catalog number
1991.0664.1198
accession number
1991.0664
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
1991.0664.1137
catalog number
1991.0664.1137
accession number
1991.0664
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
1991.0664.1260
catalog number
1991.0664.1260
accession number
1991.0664
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1945
1944-1945
maker
Steinbrenner, Carl
Steinbrenner, Carl
ID Number
1994.0334.26
catalog number
1994.0334.26
accession number
1994.0334
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1992
ID Number
1993.3094.01
catalog number
1993.3094.01
nonaccession number
1993.3094
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
1900
ID Number
1996.0047.02
catalog number
1996.0047.02
accession number
1996.0047
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
ca 1840
ID Number
1991.0664.1167
catalog number
1991.0664.1167
accession number
1991.0664
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1989
depicted
Virgin of Guadalupe
ID Number
1990.0361.10
catalog number
1990.0361.10
accession number
1990.0361
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
manufacturer
Sanmyro
maker
Sanmyro
ID Number
1991.0717.01
catalog number
1991.0717.01
accession number
1991.0717
catalog number
1991.0717.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902
maker
Bloch Publishing & Printing Company
donated in memory of
Ehrlich, Bronette
user
Ehrlich, Mildred Scheuerman
publisher; printer
Bloch Publishing & Printing Company
ID Number
1996.0237.003
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936 - 1941
ID Number
1987.0160.20B
accession number
1987.0160
catalog number
1987.0160.20B
The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church sprang up in rural areas across the South following the Civil War, providing a place of rest and community for freed slaves.
Description
The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church sprang up in rural areas across the South following the Civil War, providing a place of rest and community for freed slaves. Even if church services only occurred once or twice a month when a traveling minister visited, the house of worship provided not only a place to rekindle faith but as a school and meeting house for fraternal clubs. Homecomings came around harvest time, bringing visitors from across the country. Relatives and neighbors who had moved away came back to spend time with family, sharing stories of their lives in northern cities. The often-embellished picture of northern urban life painted at such reunions encouraged others to contemplate boarding trains north.
World War I brought a new era of industrial opportunity for African Americans, But as production demands grew, wartime recruitment took away traditionally white and immigrant factory workers. Northern labor recruiters, newspapers, and word-of-mouth spread news of higher wages and regular work being offered to African Americans willing to move. Desire for better treatment and better paying jobs brought hundreds of thousands of African Americans north.
Those left behind in the South found continued solace and fortitude in the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, leading the way in continuing the fight for basic civil rights for all. Freedom songs sung in marches and jails spread to whites traveling from northern colleges to join in the struggle, spreading lyrics and ideas back north that have now become familiar to those visiting the National Mall and public squares across the country participating in democratic demonstrations of a range of popular issues.
maker
Mt. Zion Mission Baptist Church
ID Number
1986.0812.01
accession number
1986.0812
catalog number
1986.0812.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1987.0605.06
accession number
1987.0605
catalog number
1987.0605.06
A poster advertising the Service Employees International Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.Currently not on view
Description
A poster advertising the Service Employees International Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.
Location
Currently not on view
affiliated union
Service Employees International Union
referenced
National Organization for Women
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
maker
Service Employees International Union
ID Number
1987.0522.03
accession number
1987.0522
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Larsen, Lisa
ID Number
1986.0711.0116
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0116

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