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.
1,651
Page 1 of 83
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated person
- Catherine the Great
- ID Number
- NU.68.263.1442
- catalog number
- 68.263.1442
- accession number
- 281689
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Treasure Chest
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- ID Number
- 1997.0223.01
- accession number
- 1997.0223
- catalog number
- 1997.0223.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
1851 Ellen Calder's Presentation Quilt
- Description
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania friends of Ellen Winebrenner Calder presented this quilt to her in 1851. It was a farewell present for Ellen, a young bride, who was accompanying her husband, Rev. James K. Calder to Fuh-Chua, China. They worked under difficult circumstances in China for two years as missionaries for the Methodist Episcopal Church before returning to the United States. Ellen Calder, born in 1824, died in 1858 at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. She is buried in the Harrisburg Cemetery.
- This cotton quilt consists of 36 blocks appliquéd with a fleur-de-lis motif often used by religious groups for presentation pieces. In the center circle of each block is penned a name and on many the place and date as well. Also penned on the quilt are a few pertinent religious inscriptions such as:
- "When on the bounding wave,
- Or in a Heathen land,
- May God in Mercy Save,
- And guide you by the hand.
- And when your labors cease,
- And you no more must roam,
- May you return in peace,
- To your beloved home."
- In the mid nineteenth century the album or autograph quilt was a popular token of affection, often presented to someone leaving the community for a long journey or a new home far away.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1851
- user
- Calder, Ellen Winebrenner
- quilters
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.T08114
- accession number
- 144655
- catalog number
- T08114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
patch
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.008
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.008
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.102
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.102
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.157
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.157
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medallion
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.004
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.004
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.021
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.021
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.025
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.025
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.033
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.033
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.050
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.050
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.101
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.101
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
patch
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.159
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.159
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wise Man
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1997.0401.07
- accession number
- 1997.0401
- catalog number
- 1997.0401.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sheep
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1997.0401.18
- accession number
- 1997.0401
- catalog number
- 1997.0401.18
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.023
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.023
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.052
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.052
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.059
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.059
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
medal
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.090
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.090
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
crucifix
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2000.0002.122
- accession number
- 2000.0002
- catalog number
- 2000.0002.122
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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