To commemorate its 60th edition, the Philadelphia Show presents a retrospective of past loan exhibits that attest to its role as one of America’s finest art andantiquesfairs. The 13 carefully curated artefacts represent the different genres and breath of the American decorative arts—from miniature children’s furniture to presidential miniatures. Several of these antiques had utilitarian beginnings, but their cultural underpinnings have elevated them into objects of value that present a rare glimpse into the lives and fancies of their makers and owners. Here's a look at a select few.
1900年代上地毯从脚下:地板覆盖物Used in America’, 1977
The art of the hookedrugwas born of thrift in rural America. In the 1820s, before which floors remained largely bare as few could afford carpets, women began to piece together rugs from old clothes, scraps of wool, cotton and yarns during the long, harsh winters. Some of these rugs were made to be hung like paintings, and designs included striking representations of flora and fauna, sceneries, abstract motifs, and more. These rugs are valuable as artefacts of a predominantly female artistic genre from a time when women couldn’t be artists.
This 19th-century hooked rug from Vermont was inspired by a vase of arranged cut flowers and features a border composed of lively swirls resembling a Grecian scroll. The types of dyes (either natural or chemical) used to colour the yarns changed throughout the 19th century, with women mixing their own dyes from leaves, insects, tree barks, or roots when European varieties were too expensive. This rug's colours are soft and muted today owing to age.
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Dressing Box from ‘Neat and Tidy’, 1985
Curated by Massachusetts-based collector and historian Nina Fletcher Little, this exhibit focused on eye-catching boxes from the 18th century onwards, largely from Pennsylvania. In her catalogue essay, she described how, because many of the purposes for which boxes "were made have become obsolete, they help in the understanding and appreciation of lifestyles that have now disappeared.”
The form of this dovetailed dressing box closely mimics a full-scale chest of drawers that held linens in many 18th-centuryPennsylvania房屋。减轻黑暗沃尔恩镶嵌的装饰ut and personalises it for the owner. The interweaving arcs, scalloped frame for the inscription on the front face, and portrait on the ends hint at the neoclassical tastes of the day.
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