THE

Slaters’ Grand Tour

The phenomenon of the “Grand Tour” began as early as the 17th century, when young men traveled, usually from England, to Continental Europe and the Greek Islands, as an extension of the university experience. Their classrooms were the private

libraries and art collections of aristocrats, royalty and learned men. Later, the tradition became more like today’s tourism,

particularly among wealthy American merchant classes. It became a coming-out rite for young ladies, who traveled,

accompanied by a parent or chaperone, to Europe and Asia. The manner in which the Slater family traveled

was relatively rare and remained in the realm of the fabulously wealthy, like the Carnegies and the

Vanderbilts.

The yacht, The Eleanor, was built for William Albert and Ellen (Peck) Slater in 1894 by Bath Iron Works in Maine. The ship carried seven boats including lifeboats, a 27-foot steam launch and a 20-foot catboat, named “Willie.” Elegant staterooms were trimmed in Tiffany-designed oak, butternut, and mahogany, Venetian tile, cut glass, and marble decorative elements. Persian rugs decorated the floors and oil paintings

hung on the walls. Each stateroom had running hot and cold fresh and salt water.

The exhibition Around the World on the Yacht Eleanor: The Slaters’ Grand Tour illustrates William And Ellen Slater’s ’round the world cruise in 1894/95,

out of New London to the Azores, France, Egypt, India, China, Japan, Alaska and home. The Slaters’ Grand Tour lasted almost a year and a half, and included

elegant dinners on board and shopping trips on land with some of their closest friends. This book is published to accompany the exhibition.

The Slaters’ Grand Tour:

Turkish Shoe

Around the World on the Yacht Eleanor

The Slaters’ Grand Tour: Around the World on the Yacht Eleanor

Florence, Italy; Mabel Woodward, 1877-1945, Oil on panel

1 THE YACHT ELEANOR Gaetano D’Esposito (1858-1911) Gouache, 1895 Loaned by R. Latham Woodward L2009.001

Born on the Island of Malta, in the southern Mediterranean Sea, Gaetano D’Esposito found a lucrative career as a marine painter. Port paintings were promoted to yacht owners as a personalized souvenir in many ports around the world.

Gouache is a water-based painting medium that might be described as a cross between watercolor and tempera or poster paint. Also called “body color” in the 19th century, gouache can be thinned with water and applied somewhat transparently or laid down thicker to be nearly completely opaque. Paintings in gouache are some-times mistaken for oils when they are used to create opaque effects. Gouache dries relatively fast, so there is a likelihood that a port painting would be easy to complete in a few hours, and, perhaps more importantly, ready for the buyer to carry away.

We know William A. Slater had several portraits of his beloved yacht Eleanor painted.

The Grand Tour Experience

Imari Plate, Japanese

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of a leaf. This particular method of tie-dyeing is called Kanoko Shibori, which literally means “fawn-spot tie-dyeing.” Hundreds of minute points of fabric are wrapped in thread very tightly so that they do not unravel during the dye process. Not only does this type of shibori create an interesting visual effect, but the finished product also retains a signature texture of tiny gathered circles on the fabric. This technique is sometimes used to fill in shapes, as is seen here with the orange leaf, but is often used to cover an entire kimono. It can take a year to tie enough fabric for one garment.

Bamboo appears as a motif often in Japanese imagery because it symbolizes strength of character and resilience. While another tree may crack and break in a storm, bamboo will bend with the wind. Similarly, a good person can suffer through trials in life and yet still retain his or her character and identity. The stylized leaf image is a leaf from the Paulownia tree. It is said to be the only tree in whose branches a phoenix will rest. The Paulownia tree grows very quickly, and, according to tradition, a Japanese family will plant one at the birth of a daughter. The full-grown tree will be used to make a special chest for her adult home. The Slaters, their guests on board, and crew members at all levels found Japan charming.

3 PUTTO WITH A DOLPHIN after Andrea del Verrocchio Italian (1435 - 1488)

2 KIMONO Japanese Brocade / Silk lining, c. 1820 250.W.0216

This kimono dates to around 1820, at the end of the Edo period (1603 - 1868) in Japan. As the trends and styles for wearing kimono changed consider-ably through the centuries, it is difficult to say for what event or activity this kimono would have been worn. Its opulence strongly asserts that it was not for every-day wear, but was reserved for special occasions, such as court appearances. The long sleeves suggest that it was intended for an unmarried girl or a bride, as does its rich, dense decoration. Married women wore less flamboyant patterns or monochro-matic textiles. Formal court kimono would normally have a representation of the family crest, or mon, on the back, sleeves, or chest. This example does not have mon, which makes it unlikely to be a court lady’s dress.

The embroidery on this kimono is very simple, but applied in great masses depicting a dense stand of bamboo. The bamboo stalks are accomplished with a satin stitch, which creates large areas of smooth silk thread lying in one direction. The gold outline on the leaves is made by laid and couched work.

Through the centuries, the Japanese have developed over fifty distinct techniques for tie-dyeing fabric, coaxing countless visual and textural effects from silk to decorate their garments. On this kimono, orange tie-dyeing was used to create the shape

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Bronze cast from the original mold of a sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio, c. 1478 Friends of Slater Museum purchase in recognition of former Slater Museum Director, Joseph P. Gualtieri. 230.0186

Andrea del Verrocchio was a successful artist during the Italian Renaissance. Trained as a goldsmith, Verrocchio leaves a legacy of celebrated works of sculpture and painting.

Verrocchio is perhaps best known today as the artist who trained a young Leonardo da Vinci. The Baptism

The Baptism of Christ, Andrea del Verrocchio. c. 1475, Oil on panel. Original in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

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printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. He was an early proponent of colonial unity and the idea of an American nation. As a diplomat during the American Revolution, he secured the French Alliance that helped to make independence of the United States possible. He lived in France as the nascent country’s American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. As a result, he was widely admired among Americans and French alike. His likeness was a common subject for French manufacturers like Sèvres. At the time of the centennials of both the American and French Revolutions (1876-1889), images of Franklin were again in vogue, and an American traveler in France would have been eager to bring one home.

of Christ (c.1475) is Verrocchio’s best known painting because the left-most angel figure was painted by Leonardo da Vinci as he trained in Verrocchio’s workshop in Florence.

Although overshadowed in history by his gifted student, Verrocchio was a talented and celebrated artist who found patronage in the powerful Lorenzo de’ Medici. The original sculpture of this work, Putto with a Dolphin, was made for a fountain at the Medici Villa at Coreggi. The theme of the work was well known in Roman art, which demonstrates Verrocchio’s interest in working with classical themes.

4 MADONNA WITH SAINTS Artist Unknown Oil on panel, Italian, late 16th century Estate of Charles White 180.0287

This work depicts Madonna with the infant Christ flanked by several female saints. A triptych such as this could have been commisoned for personal, private worship, or to serve as the altar piece in a church for a more public audience.

5 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN French (1741-1828) Jean-Antoine Houdon Sèvres Bisque / Porcelain base, 19th century Estate of Baron Thomas Shannon Foran 230.0561

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was a noted polymath, author,

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Benjamin Franklin, Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, 1778, oil on canvas. Original at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

a profound shift in its fortunes. An engineer and scientist, brilliant and immensely capable, Brongniart brought all of his talents to the troubled porcelain factory. He served as administrator until his death in 1847, and during those five decades influenced every aspect of Sèvres

organization and production.

6-12 PRINTS FROM LES BOUQUINISTES

Les Bouquinistes (bookstalls along the Seine) in Paris are located on the “quais” or parapets, with their rows of bookstalls arranged with their backs to the river. Selling new and secondhand books and works on paper, they still line the Pont Neuf, built 1604, and the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter.

The creative locks and design of the stalls protect their contents from theft and weather. They are unlocked daily, making it possible for the vendors to safely leave their wares overnight. In addition to rare books, the vendors, sell prints, drawings, posters, political

Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), a French neoclassical sculptor, is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon’s subjects include Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Moliere, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin. Houdon’s portrait sculpture of Washington was the result of a specific invitation by Benjamin Franklin to cross the Atlantic to visit Mount Vernon, so that Washington could model for him.

The vast and diverse production of the Sèvres factory in the 19th century resists easy characterization, and its history during this period reflects many of the changes affecting French society in the years between 1800 and 1900. Among the remarkable accomplishments of the factory was its ability to stay continuously at the forefront of European ceramic production despite the myriad changes in technology, taste, and patronage that occurred during this tumultuous century.

The factory, founded in Vincennes in 1740 and reestablished in larger quarters at Sèvres in 1756, became the preeminent porcelain manufacturer in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Louis XV became its sole owner in 1759, but due to the upheavals of the French Revolution, its financial position at the beginning of the 19th century was precarious.

The appointment in 1800 of Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847) as the administrator of the factory marked

Bouquinistes de Notre-Dame, Edouard Leon Cortes (1882 - 1969), oil on canvas

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cartoons and other works of art on paper.

6 TROUPE DE MLLE. EGLANTINEHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 - 1901)Lithograph, 19th centuryGift of Mary Meigs200.L.0443

Born into an aristocratic family in France, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec suffered from a genetic disorder which eventually caused him to stop growing as an adolescent. Due to his appearance, he often felt isolated and ostracized from the elite society which he was born in to. Perhaps due to this, he became drawn to the bohemiam life in Montmartre. Full of artists, entertainers, cafés, and cabarets, Montmartre was an endless source of inspiration to Toulouse-Lautrec who quickly became associated with depictions of the neighborhood’s lively nightlife.

While Toulouse-Lautrec created paintings in oil on cardboard, he also created several posters between 1891 and 1901. The posters, a medium which Toulouse-Lautrec helped to popularize, were intended to advertise the cabarets and famous dancers which inspired the artist.

This poster was commissioned by Jane Avril, a well-known cabaret dancer, to advertise the performance of her troupe at the Palace Theatre in London in 1896.

Jane is depicted at the far left, along with Cléopatre, Églantine, and Gazelle. Although academically trained, Toulouse-Lautrec simplified the human form and has compressed the stage on which the dancers perform. In doing so, the focus remains on the movement in their raised legs as they perform the infamous can-can.

7 THE PRAYER Pierre Louis Rodolphe Julian, (1839-1907) printed at Delarue, Paris Lithograph, 19th century Gift of Irene Weir 200.L.0027

Pierre Julian was born in Lapalud, in southeastern France, and became a painter, etcher, then the founder and director of the Académie Julian in Paris.

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and divided his professional life between America and Paris. His father, uncle and grandfather were all engravers and printers and, despite their efforts to discourage him from the difficult life of an artist, Orr was inspired to study at the Hartford Art School. On a scholarship, he continued his studies at the Art Students League, and at the Academie Julian in Paris. It was in Paris that Orr met and married his wife, a student of the late Jean Paul Laurens. The artist built a strong reputation as a print maker specializing in architectural subjects such as the beautiful bridges and cathedrals of Paris.

Also while in Paris, Orr met North Carolinian Robert Lee Humber and together they envisioned a large series of etchings of North Carolina landmarks. In 1940, Orr returned from Paris and settled in North Carolina where, over the next twelve years, he would complete this monumental series of 50 plates of historical sites, landscapes, houses and plantations around the state. The etchings were released in portfolios of five each year and were collected by institutions and private collectors alike.

The artist returned to Hartford, Connecticut after completing the North Carolina series and lived in his hometown for the final decade of his life.

10 LA VIEUX, PARIS Louis Orr (1879 - 1966) Etching, n.d. Gift of Janet C. Peterson 200.E.0312

When he came to Paris as a young man he studied informally with Léon Cogniet and Alexandre Cabanel. In 1863 Julian exhibited for the first time in the salons.

The challenges that Julian faced when in Paris led him to found the Académie Julian, an art school which was open to foreign artists, outsiders and women, who did not have access to the official École des Beaux Arts. By the 1880’s the Académie Julian had gained a reputation for excellence and had more than 600 students, many of whom became successful artists.

NFA artist Ozias Dodge, whose work is seen in this gallery and in Slater’s 20th Century Artists Gallery, studied here while on his own “Grand Tour”, accomplished on a student’s budget.

8 STUDY OF A PRIEST Alphonse Legros (1837 - 1911) Etching, 19th century Gift of Mrs. Ozias Dodge 200.E.0098

Alphonse Legros, painter and etcher, was born in Dijon, France. scene-painting in Lyons and Paris.

9 CANAL SCENE Louis Orr (1876 - 1966) Etching, n.d. Gift of Janet C. Peterson 200.E.0314

Master etcher and artist Louis Orr was born in Hartford, Connecticut

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11 PEASANT WOMEN IN CHURCH Alphonse Legros (1837 - 1911) Etching, 19th century Gift of Mrs. Ozias Dodge 200.E.0101

12 STUDY OF CHILDREN’S HEADS Pierre Louis Rodolphe Julian, (1839-1907) Lithograph, 19th century Gift of Irene Weir 200.L.0025

13 VENUS GENETRIX Plaster, 19th century 235.0062

Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, has just been awarded the apple in her left hand. She moves her free, right hand to modestly cover up. This is the pivotal mythological moment that would eventually lead to the Trojan War. The “apple of discord” had been tossed between the three powerful goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Zeus, the king of the gods, however, wisely delegated this beauty contest to a minor prince of Troy, named Paris, or Alexander. In order to be sure of her victory, Aphrodite promised him Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Her fulfillment of that promise, and the abduction of Helen, precipitated the war, when Menelaus’ allies rallied to defend his marriage.

The name of this statue as Venus Genetrix refers to the cult of Venus as the ancestor to the family of Julius Caesar. This statue was found in 1650 in Fréjus, near Marseille in southern

France. Julius Caesar, conqueror of Gaul founded a city the Forum Julii (Forum of Julius) here in 63 B.C.E.; later the first Roman emperor, Augustus, adoptive son of Julius Caesar, boosted the city’s importance when he established a colony for Roman veterans. Forum Julii celebrated the symbolism of Caesar’s family, flourished with the influx of loyal Roman veterans and became the capital of this province of the Roman Empire, Narbonensine Gaul.

Some thirty years earlier, in 46 B.C.E. in Rome, Julius Caesar had set up a statue of Venus Genetrix in a similar pose, made by the sculptor Arcesilaos. An earlier tradition inspired Arcesilaos himself, however. According to Pliny, the Greek sculptor Callimachus created a bronze Aphrodite holding the “apple of Discord”, in 420-410 BCE. This early 5th century prototype explains this statue’s classic beauty, her pristine, averted expression, downcast eyes, and diaphanous moving drapery which reveals her form as it covers it.

The Venus Genetrix of Frejus has been displayed at the Louvre since the beginning of the 18th century and would have been a highlight of the Slaters’ tour. William Slater, together with a trained art historian, published a small book on the paintings at the Louvre.

GREAT MASTER COPYISTS

In 1842, Norwich native Lydia Huntley Sigourney published her observations and reflections of her European travels in Pleasant Memories of Pleasant

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Lands. She describes the interior of the Louvre, “...amid that astonishing collection of 1500 arranged pictures, and, probably, as many more for which the walls of its sumptuous gallery have no space, were groups of artists, of both sexes, diligently employed in copying ad libitum.” Twenty-five years later, Winslow Homer’s illustration “Art- Students and Copyists in the Louvre Gallery, Paris” was published in Harper’s Weekly, depicted the same bustling scene.

Through the 19th and into the early 20th century, American painters studied the work of Great Masters in Paris in the Louvre, in Florence and in Rome. Norwich native and Norwich Arts School (NFA) graduate Eleanor Abbott Winslow went from the Art Students League (NYC) to Paris and later likely brought back and exhibited her copies at Slater Museum in 1904: a Botticelli sketch for a fresco and “The Annunciation” by Lorenzo di Credi.

Slater Museum has several 19th century paintings that were likely brought back from a Grand Tour by a Norwich native. The frames of the paintings, crafted with gilt gesso and deep Baroque carving are appropriate for paintings of this type.

14 PORTRAIT OF A MANArtist Unknown

Oil on canvas, 19th century180.1767

Copy of a portrait painted c. 1515 by Titian (c.1488 - 1576). Originally attributed to Giorgione (1477-1510), the work, now believed to be painted by Titian, currently hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Titian trained with Giorgione and even collaborated on paintings with him. Their similar styles have led to debates over attribution which is illuminated by the history of this work.

15 SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK Antoine Sébastien Falardeau (Le Chevalier) (1823-1889) Oil on canvas, 1857 180.0366

Sir Anthony van Dyck was born to a wealthy merchant in Belgium in 1599. Apprenticed to a painter in Antwerp at age ten, van Dyck grew into his artistic talent by a very young age. Early in his career he collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens, the leading painter in Antwerp at the time.

Van Dyck traveled and worked through Europe for elite patrons. Celebrated as a portrait painter, he was appointed by King Charles I as the principle painter to the court in England.

He painted his self-portrait in 1630. It was copied in 1857 by Antoine Sébastien Falardeau in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, where it still hangs today.

Falardeau was born in Canada and settled to work as an artist and copyist

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The mystery of his genius motivated Grand Tourists to seek out copies of this portrait, and interest in Leonardo continues to this day.

17 MICHELANGELO Antoine Sébastien Falardeau (Le Chevalier) (1823-1889) Oil on canvas, c. 1857 180.0365

Copy of a portrait of Michelangelo (1475-1564), originally painted c. 1540 by Jacopino del Conte The original hangs in the Pitti Gallery, Florence, Italy.

18 MADONNA DEL GRANDUCA Artist Unknown Oil on canvas, 19th century 180.1782

This painting is a copy of an original work by Raphael (1483-1520). Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael is considered one of the great artists of the Italian High Renaissance. Born to a minor painter of the Court of Urbino, Raphael was exposed to court life and art at a very young age. As a pupil of Perugino, Raphael’s early works show the influence of this master.

Raphael lived in Florence from 1504-08 and the development of his style during this time display evidence of his direct exposure to the Florentine School. He absorbed the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and the sweet Madonna and child scenes created in terra cotta by the Della Robbias.

This original version of this work dates

in Florence in 1844. He received the rank of knight after giving a painting to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. His copies of portraits became popular with Canadians and Americans making the Grand Tour, and the six opulent rooms of his studio, decorated with rare furniture, crystal, vases, medals, brocades, silver and gold provided a glimpse of a world of wealth and sophistication. The inventory available for purchase included copies of work by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Guido Reni, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Claude Lorraine. A Grand Tourist’s visit to Falardeau’s was an experience of a coveted lifestyle of noble wealth, instead of a visual survey of paintings. To purchase a painting was to bring home that memory as well.

16 LEONARDO DA VINCI Antoine Sébastien Falardeau (Le Chevalier) (1823-1889) Oil on canvas, 1857 180.0364

Copy of posthumous portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The original hangs in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci was a true Renaissance man. He was a skilled painter, an engineer, and an inventor – his curiosity and genius knew no bounds. As a painter, Leonardo da Vinci often painted very common subjects, such as The Annunciation, or The Last Supper, and completely re-invented them. He infused his scenes with psychology and scientific understanding of the human form and was lauded during his lifetime for his achievements.

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subject matter in art during the Baroque era. Set against a theatrical black background, the viewer is encouraged to focus solely on Mary Magdalen as she looks heavenward.

Encouraging viewers to focus on the emotional intensity of saints and religious figures was a tactic of Baroque art. The idea was that by focusing on the emotions of such figures, viewers would be encouraged to renew their own spiritual engagement. This was very important in Catholic countries, such as Italy, were this work was made. The Church sought to welcome and retain adherents in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent.

Magdalene by Carlo Dolci.

from Raphael’s Florentine period. The Madonna holds the Christ child, who meets the eye of the viewer. She keeps her own eyes downcast in what may be read as a serene contemplation of the child’s future.

19 LUCREZIA Artist Unknown Oil on canvas, 1855 180.0369

Copy of a painting of Lucrezia created between 1625-42 by artist Guido Reni (1575 - 1642). The original hangs in the Pitti Gallery, Florence, Italy.

Lucretia was the legendary hero of Ancient Rome who inspired the Roman Revolution, which led to the formation of the Roman Republic.

20 MAGDALENE Artist Unknown Oil on canvas, 19th century Museum purchase 180.1781

Copy of a painting originally by Carlo Dolci (1616-1687). The original work, c. 1660, hangs in the Galleria Palatina, Florence, Italy.

Dolci was a Baroque artist known for his half-length paintings of individual religious figures. Here, the artist has painted Mary Magdalen, identified by the pot of ointment that she clutches with her right hand. She is shown in an act of penance, a popular

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21 MODEL OF THE YACHT HARVARD, FORMERLY ELEANOR Lanan Model Studio, Boston, Massachusetts, American mixed media, n.d. Katherine Forest Crafts Foundation purchase 160.0041

The hull is painted with a red bottom, copper waterline, and white topsides with inset brass portholes, the decks planked in mahogany. The model is detailed with anchors, bollards, railings, ship’s wheel, binnacle, ventilators, funnel, life rings, coils of line, 6 boats, and ladders. She’s rigged accurately as a three masted barque. The only notable omissions are the three gatling guns which were mounted on the deck after she was built. Yacht owners loved to think about and visualize their ships while on dry land. Model building is a disappearing craft, still focused on the wealthy. Virtually every 19th century

yachtsman had a model of his ship on display in his home. The Morgan Library in New

York City displays J. P. Morgan’s yacht Corsair.

22 CABIN TRUNK Gift of N. Barclay and K.

Ferendo

Cabin trunks, which are sometimes called “true” steamer trunks, were

the equivalent of today’s carry-on luggage. They were low-profiled and

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The Yacht Eleanor

salute to the port and different flags and they were responded to. The harbor is narrow and the hills high so the echoes are wonderfully loud.”

24 THE YACHT ELEANOR China Trade painting Digital reproduction, oil on canvas, c.1895 A popular genre in the 19th century was the China Trade production of “portraits” of Western Ships entering Chinese ports. These images were painted by local Chinese artists. The artists often would prepare canvases by painting backgrounds featuring Chinese harbors or the open ocean. After securing a commission from an arriving ship captain or owner, they could add a painted portrait of the ship in as little as a day or two.

The charm of these ship portraits resides in the quality of the painting of the sea and background, the beauty of the ships themselves and the fine accuracy of the drawing. The portraits often present a fine pattern of superficial cracks of the varnished surface of the painting. The thinnest varnish enabled speedy delivery of the painting, but it had the drawback in that it produced a very fragile surface. When hung in heated areas, such as above a fireplace mantle, China trade ship portraits often deteriorated.

By the end of the 19th century, when the Slaters undertook their voyages, marine artists were also working in ports in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Northeastern United States as well as in China.

small enough to fit under the berths of trains or in the cabin of a steamer, hence their name. Most were built with flat tops and had inner tray compartments to store the owner’s valuables deemed too precious to keep stowed away in the baggage (luggage) car or ship’s hold. This one is equipped with drawers and the luxury of an ironing board, suggesting its owner travelled with a maid.

23 SALUTING CANNON American Iron / Wood, n.d. Loaned by Diane Norman L2009.005

Saluting cannons, also called signaling cannons, were for ceremonial use by yachts and yacht clubs to fire blank cartridges. Quite loud, they were used to start yacht races or to recognize another ship or dignitaries’ arrival. Some yacht clubs fired them off every morning at 8:00 a.m., noon or sunset according to their own traditions and often as part of the ceremony of raising or lowering the American flag at yacht clubs. If a club was having a rendezvous, the Commodore’s yacht or some other designated ship might have had the honor of firing the cannon.

On March 16, 1895, the Eleanor’s First Officer recorded in the Ship’s Log, “In afternoon met a British India steamer and exchanged salutes at Longitude 92.56 East; Latitude 6.33 North.” And on Easter, April 14, 1895, he wrote “The day opened rather worrily for a Russian man-of-war arrived and such a banging of guns as she made her

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25 TABLE TOPPER American Linen, c. 1894 Gift of Katherine Fox Slater 250.W.0561

This cream table topper was used by the Slater family on the Eleanor during their 1894/95 Grand Tour. No element of creature comfort was ignored on board and no detail spared; the Eleanor boasted its own full laundry on board.

26 TABLE TOPPER American Linen, c. 1894 Gift of Katherine Fox Slater 250.W.0555

This white woven table topper depicts the Yacht Eleanor and flag motif embroidered in center. It was used by the Slater family on the Eleanor during their 1894/95 Grand Tour.

27 TABLE RUNNER American Linen, c. 1894 Gift of Katherine Fox Slater 250.W.0558

This table runner features “EBS” as a center monogram (Ellen Burnett Slater). It was used by the Slater family on the Eleanor during their 1894/95 Grand Tour.

28 PLATE American Porcelain, c. 1894 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III L2009.006

Plate made for and used by the Slater family aboard their yacht, the Eleanor. The plate displays the burgees of both the Eleanor and the New York Yacht Club.

29 PLATE English Porcelain, c. 1880 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 10.0556

30 CUP Gorham Sterling Silver, 1858 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 170.S.00105

Engraved “William Albert Slater from his Uncle William S. Slater December 25, 1858”

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and spices, was very popular drink introduced to England in the early 17th century. Ladles were used to serve the beverage from a large bowl into individual glasses. Additionally, ladles were often used to serve soup from tureens. This ladle could have been used to serve punch, soup or even both.

35 LOG BOOK FROM THE YACHT ELEANOR Eugene W. Johnson, American, 1894 - 1895 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 50.0146

First Officer Eugene W. Johnson was clearly an educated man. His keen observations and elegant, economical prose provide a snapshot of the quotidian as well as the anomaly. In addition to recording geographical coordinates and weather conditions, he writes about unusual events like fish jumping onto the deck of the ship and men going overboard.

31 CUP Gorham Sterling Silver,1856 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 170.S.0104

Engraved “John F.(ox) Slater from his Uncle James December 25, 1856”

32 CUP Gorham Sterling Silver, 1845 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 170.S.0100

Engraved “Marianna H.(ubbard) Slater from her Grandmother Slater 1845”

33 CUP Gorham Sterling Silver, 1853 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 170.S.0103

Engraved “Elizabeth B.(ucklin) Slater from her Grandmother Hubbard 1853”

34 LADLE Gorham Sterling Silver, 1821 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 170.S.0099

This ladle is engraved with the initials “JFS” for John Fox Slater. While beautiful and expensive, most silver in America had a function. Usually, that function was associated with eating and drinking.

Silver ladles, such as this one, could have been used for a couple of different purposes. Punch, a beverage consisting of alcohol, water, fruit,

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35 - 36 PHOTO ALBUMS VOL. I & II 1894 - 1895 Gift of Sheri and William A. Slater, III 50.0146

Two-volume photo albums documenting the 1894/95 Grand Tour of William and Ellen Slater. Many of the images captured during the voyage can be seen on the large screen in this section of the exhibition.

Photography was becoming widely available as the general public increased its travel abroad. Initially activities of a very few, people with resources soon were able to afford their own cameras. At the same time, professional photographers found a huge market for images of historic and cultural sites that were considered de riguer for any tourist. Professional photographers established territories and made images that were then sold to tourists. In this album, we see the work of at least one amateur and several professional photographers. Even events of the day like rowing regattas were recorded by someone travelling on the Eleanor, while grand sites like the Taj Mahal and Government House in India were professionally produced.

The Slaters’ Grand Tour

Kingfisher feather and coral pin, Chinese

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by 17th Century Dutch painting and John Constable provided ample inspiration to the artists, all centered around the Fontainebleau Forest.

The Slaters were fond of the artists of the Barbizon school, perhaps seeing a similarity to the rural landscapes of eastern Connecticut. The Slaters collected their work, and loaned this painting to the museum for exhibition after they had returned from their Grand Tour. A newspaper column in the Norwich Bulletin of February 7, 1907, freely opining, describes it as “the best painted group of sheep in the world.... The farmers should see this picture.”

OZIAS DODGE IN EUROPE

Ozias Dodge, a graduate of Yale, would become director of the Norwich Art School, an affiliate of Norwich Free Academy in 1897. But in 1895, he was on his own Grand Tour taken in a much different mode from the Slaters. In a small book called “Canoeing Down the Rhine,” Dodge describes his escapade with a friend. He invented and built his own folding canoe, then floated from stop to stop on the River, drawing attention from the local citizenry wherever he went. A skilled draftsman, Ozias recorded the sights in meticulous tiny works like these. His affinity for the Barbizon artists is clearly detectable.

39a STREET IN ANVERS, FRANCE Ozias Dodge Charcoal and chalk on paper, 1895 180.0080

37 BARN INTERIOR WITH SHEEP AND CHICKENS Charles E. Jacque, (1813 - 1894) Oil on canvas, 180.2319

Charles-Émile Jacque was a Realist French painter and engraver associated with the Barbizon School. In his paintings, Jacque often focused on rural and farm scenes which he infused with descriptive realism.

Jacque was a personal friend of Jean-Francois Millet. Scholars often point to MIllet as a source of influence on Jacque’s painting style. The two artists were so close, in fact, that when they fled the cholera epidemics in Paris in the Spring of 1849, they purchased adjoining properties in the Barbizon.

38 LANDSCAPE Charles E. Jacque, (1813 - 1894) Oil on canvas, n.d. Estate of Florence MacDougald 180.0663

After moving to Barbizon in 1849, Charles Jacque produced engravings at a slower rate, and turned more to painting. He was successful in depicting both interiors and exterior landscape scenes in his engravings.

The Barbizon School was an informal movement that emerged in mid-19th century France. Prominent painters within the movement included Jacque’s friend Jean-Francois Millet, and Theodore Rousseau. While each Barbizon artist had their own distinctive style, as a whole, they rejected classical conventions and sought to depict the natural landscape as a worthy subject in and of itself. Works

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though she appears without any other attributes commonly associated with her in Greek art, which would reflect her role as the goddess of the hunt (her arrow quiver, bow, hunting boots, hunting dogs, pet deer or guinea fowl.)

Nonetheless, this Artemis immediately became famous for the sensitivity of its expression and it soon appeared in reproductions in Europe. The sensitive, serene face and its soft pensive modeling reminded scholars of the work of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles. Furthermore, Praxiteles is recorded as having made a sculpture of Artemis in 346 BCE for the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis in Athens, where young Athenian girls celebrated her in festivals as they approached maidenhood.

The Slaters would have seen this statue in Paris, at the Louvre - not in Rome, for in 1803 Napoleon’s sister had married Camillo Borghese, and soon thereafter (in 1808) the Borghese collection was “purchased” for the French nation and departed for Paris, where it remains today.

41 HONGZHI VASE Chinese Ceramic / Imperial yellow glaze, 18th century, one of a pair Gift of Mrs. H.A. Metzger 20.0275.1

This beautiful vase is covered with a transparent, monochrome glaze of imperial yellow, and features handles in the shape of animal forms.

39b ARCH AT ROUEN Ozias Dodge Charcoal and chalk on paper, 1895 180.0088

39c PEAK BACK OF TAORMINA Ozias Dodge Oil on board, n,d. 180.0349

39d POTATO DIGGERS Ozias Dodge Oil on board, n,d. 180.0346

39e INTERIOR OF NOTRE DAME Ozias Dodge Oil on wood panel, 1895 180.0193

39f STUDY FOR CORN HUCKING, LAUREL HILL Ozias Dodge Oil on board, n.d. 180.0339

40 ARTEMIS OF GABII Plaster, 18th century 235.0076

The original of this lovely sculpture was found in 1792 in an Italian town, 11 miles east of Rome, on land owned by Camillo Filippo de Borghese. It was excavated by Gavin Hamilton, an artist and reputable antiquities dealer. He once wrote to Charles Townley, “The most valuable acquisition a man of refined taste can make, is a piece of fine Greek sculpture.” The statue is identifed as Artemis because of her short double-belted chiton and her youthfulness, even

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42 COURTIER SCENE Indian, Delhi School Watercolor, c. 1800 On loan from the Brooklyn Museum 180.0015

43 STANDING COURTIER Indian, Delhi School Watercolor, c. 1800 On loan from the Brooklyn Museum 180.0014

Aside from France, the Slaters and their party spent the greatest amount of time on land in India. Their business interests in textiles and the lush homes of the wealthy and important aligned closely with their world view.

44 FLORENCE, ITALY Mabel Woodward (1877-1945) Oil on canvas, n.d. Gift of Alfred T. Morris, Sr. 180.1139

Mabel May Woodward became the foremost woman artist of Rhode Island in the late 19th to early 20th century. Educated at Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Student’s League in NYC, she received international recognition when two of her pieces were included in the Paris exposition in 1898. Her career included teaching at RISD and extensive travel and plein air painting in Europe (Italy, Sicily, France, Netherlands, Portugal) as well as RI, New England, Nova Scotia, CA, FL and SC.

Woodward’s European paintings are divided between street scenes of average people in their daily tasks and

keep this image

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by Tonalist artists. In contrast to the Barbizon School, which studied the interaction of common people in the rural landscape, Tonalist landscapes rarely included human figures and emphasized a sense of mood evoked through diffused light, muted tones and softly outlined objects. The viewer was invited to see nature as reflecting the serene or mysterious, as opposed to the dramatic or destructive.

Eaton traveled with Ochtman and Foster to France, Holland and England where the artists developed their individual styles. Returning to America, Eaton began to paint the pine forests of upper New York State and Northwestern Connecticut, finding popularity and renown at the National Academy exhibitions, embracing a tonalist palette with his twilight forest scenes.

Later, Eaton spent the summers of 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1923 in Italy. He painted Venice and the hillside villages around Lake Como repeatedly, Bellagio and Varenna in particular, and his palette brightened to include brilliant whites, rich oranges, greens and blues, due to his new interest in capturing daylight scenes.

Eaton would have been reaching his potential as an artist and have been at his highest popularity when the Slaters made their voyage on the Eleanor.

The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known as the Saluten, is an octagonal church in Venice, Italy. It is located on a narrow stretch of land between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco on the lagoon, visible entering the Piazza San Marco from the water.

recognizable landmarks familiar to travelers such as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

Florence is home to the Palazzo Pitti and its adjoining Uffizi Galeries, situated by the Arno River near the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the original residence of Lucca Pitti, a Florentine banker, dates from 1458. The palace was expanded by the Medicis and became a great treasure house of paintings and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century Napoleon used it as a power base and it later was briefly the royal palace of the newly united Italy. The galleries served as a platform for copyists who created replicas of its Renaissance paintings by Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Any visiting American artist or Grand Tourists would make repeated visits to become familiar with the original paintings, and also the copyists who could discuss the paintings as they worked.

45 SANTA MARIA DELLA SALUTE Charles Warren Eaton (1857-1937)

Oil on canvase, n.d. Estate of Israel Stamm 180.0841

At age 22 Eaton moved to New York City to study at the Art Student’s League and the National Academy of Design, and was exhibiting and selling his work in the early 1880’s. At this time Eaton became friends with Tonalist painters George Inness, Leonard Ochtman, and Ben Foster. Between 1880 and 1920, dark, neutral hues often dominated compositions

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3-fold neck, the pendulant ears and chignon all prove qualities of royalty as shown in the attributes of the high-caste Buddha. Face, hands and feet are brightly gilded, while traces of former polychrome are barely evident.

47 FLORAL STILL LIFE Artist unknown, Italian Oil on canvas, 18th century Gift of Mr. & Mrs. George Strouse 180.0200

Artists have made paintings of flowers since the ancient world; Dutch painters painted lush, extravagant bouquets of beautiful specimen flowers in the seventeenth century;

46 BOSATSU Japanese Bronze, 8th - 12th century Friends of Slater Museum purchase 230.0096

This Japanese bronze standing Bosatsu (or Bodhisattva in Sanskrit) figure is dated from the Heian period (794-1185). The figure stands in a combined protective and offering pose. The archaic method of its casting and the chignon type of hair treatment, lead to the assertion that it dates to before the eleventh century, C.E. - The folds of its garments flow easily over the shoulders and he wears the jeweled necklace with trisulate pendants. The

Detail of Varenna (Lago di Como), Charles Warren Eaton, n.d., oil on canvas. Spanierman Gallery, New York City.

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and French painters reformulated the genre in the 19th century. In art history, floral still life paintings stand at the intersection of art, science, metaphor and philosophy.

With the advent of the 16th century, the popularity of these paintings celebrated the flourishing science of botany when specimens and seeds were brought from distant lands. Artists could demonstrate their academic research and artistic skill as well as their enjoyment of material settings in making their compositions.

48 SATSUMA VASE Japanese Porcelain, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0118

Exports of Japanese ceramics have long played an important role in Japan’s economy. First, the Satsuma province produced dark glazed stoneware during the Edo period (1603-1868). At that time Japan had isolated itself from the rest of the world, and when the Dutch East India Company dominated trade, export of porcelain to Western countries was a significant income generator.

Second, after the Paris Exposition in 1867, other areas in Japan began to produce “Satsuma” style ware. The era from 1868 until 1912 is called the Meiji period - after the name chosen by the young prince Mutsuhito. (Meiji means “the enlightened rule” The mass-production of Satsuma ware catered increasingly to foreign tastes: brocade-like surfaces including numerous styles and symbols concealed a gradual decline in

quality during the last years of the Meiji period. It was in the midst of this transformational era that the Slaters visited and found the country to be advanced, welcoming and beautiful.

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Satsuma Vase

49 VASE Chinese Stoneware / Famille coral glaze, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0138

Ceramics in Asia have influenced and been influenced by Korea, China and Japan. Each built on the skills and innovations of the others.

50 RANMA FROM A TEMPLE Japanese Painted wood, c. 1800 Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 230.0057

Ranma (also rama, ramma) or transom pieces, are used to decoratively fill the spaces above the fusuma or shoji (room divider screen) and the lintel or ceiling in a Japanese home or temple. They also serve the practical purpose of allowing ventilation and light into the interior of house. Ranma can be carved three-dimensional scenes, slatted wood or small sliding shoji panels. Generally, the more intricately carved and three- dimensional, the older the ranma. Ranma can have lacquered wood frames or natural finish.

Souvenirs &Curios

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52 CHRYSANTHEMUM SCROLL Chinese Aquamedia Ink & color painted on silk and mounted on silk Chiang T’ing-hsi (1669-1732) Originally a hanging scroll Friends of Slater Museum Purchase 180.0628

Chiang T’ing-hsi was a Chinese painter and an editor of the encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Writings and Charts).

Jiang was born in Changshu, Jiangsu. Besides the name Yangsun, he was also known by his courtesy name Youjun, as well as the pseudonyms Nansha, Qingtong Jushi, Qiujun, and XiGu. A courtesy name is bestowed at adulthood in addition to one’s given name. The practice was traditional in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. It could be given either by parents or by the recipient’s first personal teacher. A courtesy name might also have been adopted for ones’ self.

As an official painter and grand secretary to the imperial court, Jiang used a wide variety of artistic styles, and focused particularly on paintings of birds and flowers. He was also proficient in calligraphy.

Although better known for the encyclopedia, Jiang also contributed to the Gazette of the Qing Empire, a geographical index. As a holder of the jinshi degree, Tinxi performed important duties in the Qing government’s Office of Military Finance

51 EMBROIDERY SAMPLE Japanese Embroidered silk, c. 1890 Gift of John Crockett 250.E.0343

Japanese embroidery (nihon shishu in Japanese) is a technique that originated more than a thousand years ago. Much like the art form of Japanese porcelain production, shishu originated in China and was introduced to Japan by Korean artisans; around the same time that Buddhism entered Japan. In its early stages, Japanese embroidery was only used for decorating items used during religious ceremonies. Over time, as shishu developed its unique qualities and characteristics, it took on a more artistic purpose. According to historians, in the early Heian Period (794 to 1185) Japanese embroidery was primarily used for decorating costumes of the ladies of the court. During this early era, shishu was only available to the highest ranks of society who could afford such costly work.

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Chrysanthemums are a symbol of autumn, and the flower of the 9th moon. They are also a symbol of longevity because of their health giving properties. Two Chinese painted quail are also present. Also known as button quail are happiest in pairs. Males have the endearing habit of offering small insects to females, who are alerted to the treat by his high-pitched “peeps”. The quail is the symbol of courage as in rural China quail-fights, like cock-fights, were a popular pastime. The quail is also a symbol for peace and harmony between generations living together.

53 Street Scene with a Minaret Attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) Oil on board, initial lower right 180.2307

Above: Casting Bullets, Gerome, 1870, oil on canvasBelow: Women of Algiers in their Room, Eugene Delacroix (French, 1798 - 1863), 1834, oil on canvas.

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In 19th century Europe a trend in painting emerged – the Western painter would take the Middle East and the Middle Easterner as its subject. Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 sparked Europe’s renewed interest in the Middle East. But why did representations of the Middle East become so popular? The scholar Edward Said wrote in Orientalism that Europeans began to use the Middle East as a foil for the achievements of Europe and its people. Europeans saw themselves as civilized and chaste. They then cast Middle Eastern men as violent and barbaric, while Middle Eastern women were cast as sexually available. Europeans believed themselves to be advanced technologically and socially. They saw the Middle East as frozen in time. Underdeveloped. At the same time, the Middle East became something to possess as European colonial powers extended their reach toward them. These paintings are not romantic or factual. They depict people through the eyes of their colonizer.

Above: Prayer in the Mosque, Gerome, 1871, oil on canvas. Right: The Carpet Merchant, Jean-Leon Gerome (French, 1824–1904), 1887, oil on canvas

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of embroidery. Su embroidery of the Jiangso province displays delicate thin, yet dense stitches that conceal their joins. Su embroidery attracted international recognition at the 1915 Panama World’s Fair

55 CRESCENT PIN Chinese Kingfisher feathers / Gold, 19th century Gift of Gertrude Gale 110.0020

56 OVAL PIN Chinese Kingfisher feathers /Gold, 19th century Gift of Gertrude Gale 110.0022

Astonishingly expensive and rare, Tian-tsui jewelry (“dotting with Tsui, “kingfishers”) was a traditional Chinese art form featuring kingfisher feathers. Beautiful small kingfisher birds (usually from the species Halcyon pilleata and Halcyon Smyrnensis) were netted or trapped for centuries for their exquisite gem-like feathers. Only about the size of a sparrow, each bird carries 28 iridescent flight feathers ~ turquoise and lapis lazuli: ten on each wing, and eight in its tail. Tiny finer down feathers could also be used, though they were very difficult to manipulate. The feathers were trimmed and glued to silver gilt or metal backings as an inlay on small objects, like hairpins, headdresses, and fans, or occasionally on larger areas on panels and screens. As in many bird feathers, the color does not come from pigments in the feather, but happens when tiny feather barbules

54 EMBROIDERY SAMPLE Chinese Silk, n.d. Gift of Constance Morse 250.E.0203

Both men and women in China have practiced the craft of embroidery since the early Han Dynasty in the 2nd Century BCE. Embroideries survive from the Tang, Sung, Ming and Ching periods, often using traditional styles and methods. This can make dating a specific piece of textile work quite difficult.

Embroidery appears on fine clothing and luxury items such as shoes, purses, banners and altar pieces ~ some so elaborate that they could require multiple workers several years to complete.

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese calligraphy and drawing have been incorporated into the art

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Photograph of the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher by Shantanu Kuveskar.

were developed, and by the Han dynasty in the second century BCE silk was imported to Europe, though its cultivation was limited to Japan, Korea and China.

Among the numerous ancient Chinese legends about the cultivation of silk is the following about the Silkworm Goddess who appeared to the Yellow Emperor (or God) Huangdi. She presented him with silk fibers spun from her mouth as a sign of respect. His wife, Hsi-ling or Lei Tsu, (if not the same being as the goddess) traditionally cultivated the silk-producing caterpillar (Bombyx mori),fed the silkworms mulberry leaves, and invented the loom to weave the fiber. The emperor then found the cloth to be heavenly. By 1742 the Yellow Emperor and legends of the Silkworm Goddess were anchored in religion by ritual practice and an altar.

58 BANDAGED FOOT MODEL WITH SHOE, plaster with embroidered silk shoe,19th century, Chinese Estate of Kate Morse 30.A.0264

The exact origins of foot binding remain unclear. However, scholars know that it emerged during the 10th century among ladies in the royal court and eventually spread throughout China. By the 12th century the practice was widespread and remained so through the early 20th century.

Women who wanted to marry had to have bound feet as it became a beauty ideal and a symbol of female refinement. When girls were about

refract and reflect light, much like a prism breaks light into a spectrum of colors.

The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) introduced sumptuary laws, restricting fabrics, certain patterns, and gold thread to the upper classes. Kingfisher, jewelry, the most opulent adornment, became reserved to specific individuals—empresses, concubines, and wives of high-ranking officials.

Throughout history, Chinese culture paid attention to the symbolism of color in jewelry, with blue kingfisher feathers, blue gems, and blue enameling connoting nobility. In addition, unlike other forms of jewelry, tian-tsui was reserved for women. For 2,000 years, kingfisher feathers also connotated longevity, although hunting and export of kingfisher birds ironically endangered Cambodian species, until their use was banned in 1940.

57 SHAWL Chinese Printed silk, c. 1820 Gift of Eleanor Deming 250.P.0113

The beginning of sericulture, or cultivation of silk, lies in the distant past in China, before history, in the world of mythology and legend, and before archaeology’s first discovery of silk, at Jiahu in Henan province, where chemical analysis has found evidence of silk proteins in tombs, which date back to 6,500 BCE.

In the first millennium BCE, techniques of spinning and weaving brocades

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handed down for generations. As Chinese women emigrated to other parts of the world, Western leather shoe designs were adapted for commercial sale to those with bound feet. These shoes were made in decreasing numbers as the practice of footbinding was abandoned, with the last commercial shop closing at the end of the 20th century.

60 CULTURE OF SILKWORMS Chinese Watercolor on silk mounted on paper, c. 1840 Gift of Mrs. Paul Bernardo 180.1281

Most stages of sericulture have changed little over the centuries.From left to right, the sequence of these little watercolors illustrate: a. Plantiing and growing mulberry trees b. Picking mulberry leaves c. Feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms d. Sorting cocoons for size, quality and color e. Drying cocoons f. Boiling cocoons to kill the larvae and dissolve the gum sericin from silk filaments g. Dying silk filaments h. Rolling several filaments into threads i. Making skeins of threads j. Weighing and boxing skeins for sale k. Drinking tea over a sale

The Silk Routes were important to the exchange of commerce, culture and technology through the agency of

four years old their feet would be broken and bound repeatedly for about two years in order to achieve the desired size and shape. The ideal size of a foot was three inches.

During the 19th century, Western powers became more prevalent in China and began to advocate against foot binding. It is an interesting stance as the practice may be compared to the ideal tiny waists of Victorian women and the corsets that broke their ribs to help them achieve this beauty ideal. Although they advocated against it, many Western tourists were fascinated by foot binding.

When traveling in China, they would seek out tiny shoes and hoped for a glimpse of ladies with tiny feet. Shopkeepers began to sell tourists models like this one to profit from their fascination.

While the practice of foot binding continued in the early 20th century, it eventually grew out of fashion and was not longer appropriate once Mao Zedong rose to power.

59 WESTERN-STYLE SHOES FOR BANDAGED FEET Chinese Leather, c. 1830 Estate of Kate Morse 30.A.0257

Traditional shoes for bound feet were custom-fit to each girl’s foot and pace of growth. Women made their own silk slippers with patterns and designs

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precious materials such as jade.

Scholars and collectors have thought that the dolls were used by women from the 14th to the 19th century to explain to a doctor where they were experiencing pain. The idea was that the doll would preserve the woman’s modesty by preventing a physical examination.

However, this belief has come into question in recent years. Professor Christine Ruggere has argued that these dolls were never used as medical devices, as they are not mentioned in traditional Chinese medical texts, but rather were erotic art often sold to tourists as curiosities.

62 PILLOW/HEAD REST Chinese Ceramic, 19th century Loaned by the Brooklyn Museum 20.0392

In a world without air conditioning, porcelain conducted heat away from the body, aided by pierced designs that encouraged air circulation. Many pillow designs of animals and children conveyed blessings for good marriages and fertility. Other animals guarded the sleeper from bad luck, often using homophones and puns in their imagery.

63 BUDDHA MASK Chinese Wood, gesso, paint, gilding18- 19th century Loaned by the Brooklyn Museum 230.0035

people from China, India, Persia and mediterranean countries for almost 3,000 years. From West to East traders brought slaves, camels, horses, dogs, grapevines, honey, glassware, woolen rugs and blankets. From East to West people transported silk, satins, perfumes, spices, medicines and jewels. The Silk Routes were a conduit not only for ideas, philosophy, and cultural exchange, but also for soldiers and disease.

Central Asian sections of the trade routes, established before 130 BCE were expanded by the Han Dynasty. Trade on the Silk Road aided the development of the great civilizations of China, India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt and Rome, laying foundations for the modern world. In 550 AD the secret of silk cultivation became known to other countries when two monks from the Byzantine Empire smuggled silkworm eggs out of China. In the late Middle Ages transcontinental trade began to decline. By the 13th century, Italy had become a major producer of silk. In 1453 the Ottoman Empire closed the Silk Route to Europe, prompting the expansion of sea trade.

61 CHINESE MEDICINE DOLL Chinese Ivory, n.d. Estate of Grace Sears 60.0167

Chinese Medicine Dolls, also known as a Doctor’s Lady, are common in Western collections of East Asian art. The dolls always depict a nude, reclining woman. Often carved in ivory, they can also be made of other

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mechanized, is mostly based in southern China. Provinces vary in their traditions of embroidery applications, imagery and varied styles of hundreds of intricate stitches used. Italy began its silk production in the 14th century and France in the 16th century. Their production reduced European demand for Chinese exported silk. The invention of the Jacquard loom in 1804 enabled the production of silk brocade embroidery, and takes its place as an industrial precursor of a computer, using punched cards to determine the mechanical steps of the looms.

65 BINJIN Japanese Arita Ware, Imari type, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0109

Bijin is a Japanese term used to describe this depictions of beautiful women. This brightly colored figurine of a beautiful woman is representative of a type of erotica that was exported from Japan to Europe in the late 17th and early 19th centuries, although, this particular statuette likely dates from the 19th century.

66 WATER VESSEL OR PLANTER Japanese Stoneware, raku late 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0640

Missionaries from India brought the practice of Buddhism to China in the first century CE. Its belief system blended with Chinese Folk Religion and Taoism, and the visual iconography of Buddhism spread quickly in writings, illustrations and other arts during the Han dynasty. Indian religious festivities included processions of carts with images of gods or floats borne on shoulders, with musicians and chanting. In the 18th century, the imperial dynasties of the Ming and Qing tolerated village popular religious cults as long as they bolstered social stability.

Chinese traditional religion was deeply embedded in one’s family and civic life, although it did not have

an institutional creedal identity, as found in Christianity. One

could visit a temple or take part in pilgrimage without a

conversion experience or need for the community’s acceptance.

64 UPHOLSTERY PANEL

Chinese Embroidered satin, n.d. 250.E.0323

Chinese silk hand embroidery was at its

height of production by the 14th century.

Modern Chinese silk embroidery, now primarily

Porcelain plates - Japanese

68 GETA AND TABI SOCK Japanese Velvet / Wood, 19th century Gift of Winslow Williams 30.A.0332

The Geta form of raised sandals was invented by the Chinese and then introduced to Japan. From the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868), Geta were an item of fashion in the city, while cheaper straw sandals were used for everyday walking by common people. Tabi socks feature a split for the large toe so they can be worn with thong sandals.Usually two supporting blocks of wood (called “hai” or “teeth”) support the wooden sole (da). The height of the “hai” on which the sole was mounted varied according to cermonial or practical uses, such as tall geta used in parades, enormous votive geta dedicated at shrines, or sturdy geta for walking through dirty or muddy areas.

Geta figure in many haiku poems, for their distinctive clacking sounds and their striped “tracks” evoke memorable images for writers, especially as the Chinese and Japanese character for the number 2 (ni) resembeles two tracks.

69 FAMILLE ROSE-CORAL VASE Japanese Porcelain, 1840 Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0119

70 PRAYER BEADS Japanese Wood and clay, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 110.0036

Development of ceramics in Japan was spurred in the Momoyama Period (1568-1615). At the time the Tea Ceremony became popular with the aristocracy and the military. Raku-ware (Raku-yaki) has been connected with the tea ceremony ever since.

Raku literally means “felicity”. Many people judge Raku tea bowls as the highest Japanese ceramic art. They show “wabi-sabi” (humble simplicity) aesthetics, in which simplicity and imperfection are cherished in the things created by man. The pieces are undecorated and modest in shape, devoid of luxury. Each piece is handcrafted without a wheel, with a slightly uneven shape and style. Traditional Raku bowls often have a thick lead glaze of in black or dark red.

Raku was traditionally fired in wood-burning kilns where fire and smoke could create random patterns.

67 GETA (CLOGS) Japanese Velvet / Wood, early 20th century Gift of Winslow Williams 30.A.0041

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73 OKIMONO - BASKETMAKER Japanese Ivory, n.d. Estate of Grace Sears 230.I.0123

An Okimono is a small Japanese carving, similar to, but larger than netsuke. Unlike netsuke, which had a specific purpose, Okimono were purely decorative. An Okimono can be made out of wood, ivory, ceramic or metal. They depict animals, mythological beasts, humans, gods, fruit, vegetables, sometimes combined with each other. In some cases, a scene from daily life or from a story with several figures was portrayed.

74 OKIMONO - GORILLA AND TURTLES Japanese Ivory, n.d. Estate of Grace Sears 230.I.0124

75 HAIR ORNAMENT Japanese Silk-wound wire / Kingfisher feathers, opal, quartz, coral, jade and amber beads, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 110.0023

76 INRO-

Japanese Bamboo / Gold lacquer 19th century Estate of Grace Sears 110.0023

Inrō containers consist of a number of interlocking compartments. Like a purse, they carried necessary small items as ink seals, tobacco and pills,

Juzu are used to count prayers and other expressions of devotion like prostration. Many cultures use beads to augment prayer.

71 OKIMONO - ZODIAC FIGURES Japanese Ivory, n.d. Estate of Grace Sears 230.I.0130

Conglomeration of animals including dragon, cock, boar, monkey, rat, ox, rabbit, dog and oni on horse.Okimono are often displayed before religious altars or in a tokonoma (alcove), a traditional element of the Japanese home used for display. The term okimono literally translates as “object for placement [on display].” An okimono may be a small carving, purely decorative. During the Meiji period (1868 - 1912), many okimono were made for export to the West or for Western Grand Tourists to take home as souvenirs.

72 FAN Chinese Paper / Ivory, n.d. Gift of Dr. Ruth Anderson 70.0117

The fan, made of feathers, wood, ivory, bamboo, silk or paper, played an important part in Chinese and Japanese life. Fans were carried by men as well as women, and there were many classes of fans, each reserved for some special purpose. The oldest existing Chinese fans are from the 2nd century BCE.

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while hanging from the belt of a kimono. Kimono had no pockets, so inrō met a practical purpose, but so beautifully that they remain prized beyond their cotidian use. The inrō was one of three small interconnected precious objects: a bead (ojime) on a cord kept the inrō sections closed; a toggle (netsuke) was also threaded on the cord and was pushed up under the obi sash around the waist, holding the inrō in place. Each of these items would be crafted of precious materials, the ojimo and netsuke often of jade, ivory, coral or metal.

This inrō is made of Japanese lacquer, a medium dating back thousands of years. Early inrō were usually of wood covered with plain black lacquer, made from the toxic sap of the urushi tree (Rhus verniciflua), which contains the same chemical found in poison ivy and poison sumac. As many as 40 thin layers are applied to a surface of wood, bamboo, paper, plastic, shell, metal, or leather. By the middle of the 17th century (the Tokogawa period) the elaborate techniques of carved, painted, and gold lacquer ensured that inrō would remain popular with collectors in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

77 OKIMONO-DRAGON Japanese Silver on copper / Crystal 19th century Gift of Gertrude Gale 170.S.0019

78 PLATE OR PLATTER Japanese Imari Porcelaie, c. 1875 Gift of Beatrice Regina Silverstein 20.0505

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79 VASE Japanese Imari Porcelain, 19th century Gift of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel 20.0115

The production of translucent Porcelain allowed the colors of underglazes, glazes and enamels to appear more vivid and luminous. (The term ‘glaze’ itself drives from middle English ‘glas’). Chinese cobalt blue underglazes and colored glazes were soon challenged in popularity by the Imari ware which combined on the same piece a cobalt underglaze with black for outlines, and red, gold, and sometimes other colors, added in overglaze.

In western commerce Japanese multi-coloured or “enamelled” porcelain was designated “Imari ware,” while cobalt blue and white designs were called “Arita ware;” in fact, however, they were often made in same factories and fired in the same kilns.

80 OPIUM PIPE CASE Japanese Silver / Shakudō, 18th century Gift of Mrs. Robert Taylor 170.0050

In the 18th and 19th centuries, countries around the world struggled to control the social and economic impacts of trade in tea, tobacco and opium. Smoking tobacco began to accompany tea-drinking, and the rise and fall in costs made status conscious consumers adopt new tobacco/opium blends called madak. Eventually, opium smoking became a cultural practice accepted like

tobacco.

81 POUCH Japanese Mixed media, early 20th century Gift of Betty Clerc 30.A.0016

Made of splint, silk cloth secured with a carved nut and closied with a pullstring with ivory-tipped wooden knob.

82 NARA INCENSE Japanese Rose scented incense/ Paper box, c. 1890 80.0933

This incense was packaged in Nara, near Kyoto, Japan. The culture of incense appreciation in Japan began around C.E. 600. Initially it was an indulgence for the Imperial court or Buddhist ritual, but it gradually gained a wider appeal. The Japanese incense ceremony, or Kodo (the way of fragrance”) developed during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when the rules and principles of appreciating incense became known as monkoh, or “listening to incense”. By the Meiji period (1868-1912) incense burners for Buddhist temples were made in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes, representing cranes, elephants and dolphins.

83 BOWL Japanese Imari porcelain, n.d. Estate of Grace Sears 20.0553

The composition and subject matter of Imari ware is diverse, ranging from foliage to floral designs that include insets of people, scenery and abstractions. Arita vases are influenced by Japanese traditions of paintings and costume design. The porcelain has a gritty texture on the base, where it is not covered by glaze. Japanese and Chinese vases can be distinguished by the Japanese use of gold and by the lack of glaze on the foot or underside of larger pieces. The presence of Chinese maker or dynasty marks is not a reliable indicator of source.

Incense burner, Rushana Cosmic Buddha of Nara 42

Fans came to Europe from East Asia, brought by Portuguese traders around 1580. They were adapted to appeal to aristocratic taste for rich materials and elaborate ornament. In 17th-century Europe, ivory, horn, bone, tortoiseshell and hardwoods were used with ever-increasing skill to produce fine tapering sticks. Guard sticks became wider, affording greater protection to the delicate leaf when folded and allowing width for carving, relief decoration and inlay. The leaf could be made of paper, silk or fine leather – vellum or kid – painted with watercolor or gouache. Inserts of lace or mica gave sparkle and delicacy to the leaf and the technique of découpé (intricate cutting) made the vellum itself look

like lace.

Parisian fan-makers had been preeminent since the late 17th century. Their skills spread throughout northern Europe, particularly after 1685, when the pious Huguenots fled religious persecution in France. By the 18th century, fans were popular at all social levels, and technical developments in printing and

machine decoration allowed cheaper fans to be produced

alongside the bejeweled luxury items. Import controls were strict.

In early 18th-century England, finished Indian and Chinese fans were prohibited, though the London fan-makers relied heavily on imported ivory sticks.

After the political upheavals of the late 18th century (French revolutionaries had no time for frippery) the 19th

84 FAN French Painted paper / Wood / Gilding, 19th century Gift of Constance Morse 70.0066

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87 FAN French Painted satin / Ivory, 1870 Gift of Lucy Morse 70.0085

88 FAN French Painted satin / Wood / Gilt, late 19th century Gift of Mrs. Samuel S. Walker 70.0044

89 FAN French Chiffon / Sequins / Ivory, late 19th century Gift of Constance Morse 70.0064

90 FAN French Brussels point lace / Abalone / Ivory, late 19th century Gift of Emily Cross 70.0047

century saw another flowering. The simple lines of fashionable dress in the early years of the century demanded small and delicate fans, whereas the later fashion for crinolines required a change of scale. When ladies wore draped garments with bustles, they carried fans made of matching fabric. Great Exhibitions saw their heyday in the later 19th century, and fans were pressed into service as an advertising medium and as souvenir items.

85 FAN French Gauze / Applied sequins / Wood / Metal inlay, late 19th century Gift of Mrs. Samuel S. Walker 70.0047

86 FAN French Paper / Mother of pearl / Silver inlay, late 19th century Gift of Mrs. Samuel S. Walker 70.0110

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by many more, including production at Chantilly and Sèvres, once details spread about the discovery of making hard-paste porcelain in Dresden, Germany (1710).

92 SHOES French Brocade of metal thread /

Rhinestone buckle, late 19th centuryGift of Mary Blumenthal30.A.0038

Pumps or Court Shoes began with the fashion of rulers and politicians in European countries during the Renaissance. The French King Louis XIV demanded that no one enter his court without wearing red colored high heels. Court shoes were of a practical advantage to equestrians, for they held the foot more securely in the

stirrup.

The French Revolution banned aristocratic high heeled shoes, but the fashion returned and pumps soon became a permanent fashion item. High tab front shoes with expensive large buckles had a comeback in the 1870s and were fashionable again in the 1890s, appealing to international buyers with styles named “Cromwell”, “Colonial”, and “Molière.”

93 JOSEPHINE, EMPRESS OF FRANCE Signed: Lethiere, French Painted ivory / Gold frame, 19th century Gift of Ella Norton 180.0005

91 PERFUME BOTTLE French Porcelain, early 19th century Gift of Eleanor Deming 20.0242

Perfume is one of the most expensive products, mysterious and treasured. It took the French centuries to master its production. Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome all valued the extraction of scented oils from plants and animals, but perfume production remained known to few. During the Renaissance some perfumes came to Europe by the Silk Routes, and by the 14th century, the floral industry had begun in the South of France. By the late 17th century France was firmly established at the center of perfume production, also leading in the industries that made exquisite containers for their costly contents.

It also took the French centuries to figure out how to make porcelain. Chinese and Japanese potters had produced a special blend of a cool white hard-paste porcelain which combined kaolin, and petunse (feldspar, silicate of alumina and potash). The French finally mastered soft-paste china, using kaolin, glass, and sand, which gave a ware with a creamy and translucent body. When it is broken, hard paste porcelain will chip like an arrowhead, but a soft paste porcelain will break in a straight line. The first French factory at Rouen (1673) was soon followed

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94 NAPOLEON, EMPEROR OF FRANCE Signed: Lethiere [GUILLAUME GUILLON-LETHIÈRE (1760–1832)], French Watercolor on ivory / Gold frame, 19th century Gift of Ella Norton 180.0007

Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of the French from 1804-14/15. A skilled and tactical leader, Napoleon often used art as propaganda during his rise to power to help shape his image.

These miniatures were still in vogue as an art form, but would soon decline in popularity due to the rise of photography which would bring tiny photo portraits to Grand Tourists and armchair travelers alike.

95 FAN French Satin / Abalone, 1885 Gift of Theodora McCurdy 70.0077

96 FAN French Vellum / Ivory, 19th century Gift of Alice B. Beer 70.0100

97 SHOES French Velvet / Rhinestone buckle, late 19th century Gift of Mary Blumenthal 30.A.0036

As was the case with dresses, lingerie, fans and jewelry, the French excelled in the design and fabrication of

Empress Joséphine(1763 –1814) was Napoléon Bonaparte’s first wife. Until meeting Bonaparte, she was known as Rose, but Bonaparte preferred to call her Joséphine, which she used from then on. A native of Martinique, the French island in the Caribbean Antilles, she may have had a special bond with the painter of this miniature.

This portrait, signed Lethiere, refers to Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (1760-1832). He was born in Guadeloupe, the island to the north of Martinique, the son of a king’s prosecutor and a freed woman. With a skill and aptitude for drawing, he moved to Paris at the age of fourteen and became a successful history painter. He studied at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculture and in Rome until 1791. After securing influential allies, such as Lucien Bonaparte, he was appointed director of the Académie de France in Rome. In 1816 he was made a knight in the Legion of Honor, and in 1819 received tenure in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts. In the role of Lucien’s advisor as well, Lethière collected a great many Spanish paintings in the Louvre today. Three works by Ingres at Harvard’s Fogg Museum depict Lethière, his son and his grandson.

Josephine followed precedent in using art and patronage in the fashioning of her royal identity. As Elizabeth I of England had discovered in the late 16th century, miniatures were small enough to be given personally, as a sign of a royal’s favor.

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18th century, tastes changed and the favored scenes were of classical mythology, pastoral subjects,–and the manicured garden. The painting was always of high quality, using miniaturist techniques, sometimes producing superbly executed copies of masterpieces. But amateur fan painting was also a suitable pastime for ladies; Queen Victoria’s daughter, the Empress Frederick of Prussia, was a notable practitioner.

During the 19th century standards of decoration began to decrease. The demand for fans increased and manufacturing techniques such as machine tooling, machine embroidery, chromolithography and engraving brought fans to all classes. Novelty fans featured articulated sticks, meaning that a sweetly romantic picture could turn into something altogether different.

shoes. No outfit was complete without a matching pair of shoes. Fine, soft leather, including kid, silks, satins, embroidered fabrics, jewels and metal ornament were all employed to ensure that the lady’s foot not only matched the gown, but was a show piece itself. By late 19th century, women’s shoes looked very much like dress shoes do today. A small heel was part of the shoe for every occasion and hour of the day.

98 SHOES French Satin / Rhinestone buckle, late 19th century Gift of Mary Blumenthal 30.A.0035

99 FAN French Hand-colored lithograph / Ivory, 18th century Gift of Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Cohen 70.0041

The 16th and 17th centuries favored classical, biblical, and conversation scenes for decorating fans; in the

Satin and rhinestone shoe, French47

105 WATCH French Silver / Enamel, 19th century Gift of Mrs. Ozias Dodge 110.0033

106 VINAIGRETTA French Silver, 1840 Katherine Forest Crafts Foundation purchase 170.S.0074

This ornamental vessel with a perforated lid was used for holding aromatic vinegar, or smelling salts.

Aromatic Vinegar is a very volatile and powerful perfume made by adding the essential oils of lavender, cloves and camphor, among others, to crystallizable acetic acid. It was, and still is, used to awaken someone who has fainted or swooned. Smelling salts were also known as spirit of hartshorn or sal volatile and aromatic spirits of ammonia. At a time when corsets were de rigeur and refined women rarely exercised, it was not unheard of to swoon.

107 FAN French Paper / Ivory, early 19th century Gift of Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Cohen 70.0071

108 PARASOL French Chantilly lace / Ivory, 19th century Gift of Emily Case 30.A.0122

100 FAN French Painted silk / Lacquered wood, 1850 Gift of Theodora McCurdy 70.0073

101 SLIPPERS French Leather / Bronze beads, late 19th century Gift of Mabel Webb 30.A.0217

102 FAN French Brussels point lace / Mother of pearl / Gilding, 19th

century Gift of Frances Little 70.0004

103 FAN French Paper / Wood / Fabric- covered box, 19th century Gift of Marian Coffin 70.0104

104 VASE DAUM NANCY, French Glass, 19th century Estate of Grace Sears 100.0146

Daum is a French glass studio, founded in 1875 by Jean Daum (1825-1885). His sons, Auguste Daum (1853-1909) and Antonin Daum (1864-1931), oversaw its growth during the burgeoning Art Nouveau period in the city of Nancy.

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rivalry with its recent manufacture at Meissen, Germany. At first, Vincennes produced tea cups, fine plates and dinnerware, but soon added sculptural elements and figures to serving and center pieces. Vincennes also developed new blue glaze colors: a rich sky blue, a turquoise blue, a royal blue and a darker lapis lazuli. Vincennes developed sequences of multiple kiln firings which allowed high firing glazes to be fixed first, glazes with lower melting point next, with gold decoration added last.

The metal ormolu mounts beneath these vases seem to be of a later date than the vases themselves. French metallurgists developed this alloy and process about the same time as their potters were learning to make porcelain. The multi-step craft of ormolu required using the lost-wax method of making a model, then a mold, then pouring a molten mixture of copper, zinc and tin into the mold. Later the item was carved, chased or polished, and then gilded with a paste of powdered gold mixed with mercury. Next the item was kiln-fired to evaporate the poisonous mercury, leaving a fine gold bonded to the surface. Ormolu work would be polished or left in a matt form to accentuate its sculptural detail.

110 VASE French Glazed porcelain, mid 19th century Gift of Raymond B. Case 20.0271

A 19th century lady desired accessories that declared her taste and status. This parasol shows similarities in its materials to ladies’ fans of the same period. Both items could attract notice, displaying expensive materials under the excuse of practicality. An umbrella provides shelter from both rain and sun, whereas a parasol only protects one from the sun. Further, a parasol of lace, like this one, was of little practical use as a sunscreen; it primarily softened the light that fell on a woman’s face, enhancing beauty, minimizing visible wrinkles, or the need to squint.

Parasols and umbrellas came from China to France and England in the mid-17th century, but they only became popular as protection from the rain in late 18th century. The umbrella craze erupted in the 19th century: in 1808 there were 7 umbrella shops in Paris; in 1813 there were 42; by 1850 there were 377. Chantilly lace from Bayeux, France, enjoyed a revival during the 19th century, and became more economical after 1850 with the advent of machine-made lace.

109 VASES French Porcelain, 1750 Gift of Mrs. Harlan Pierce 20.0162

This pair of vases were probably made at Vincennes, France, where Louis XV had recently assigned the new factory the privilege of attempting the first French hard-paste porcelain, in

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112 NECKLACE Egyptian Scarab-shaped amethyst cabochons, gold 19th century. Gift of Mrs. Charles W. White 110.0069

Made to appeal to the Grand Tourist, this necklace combines modern techniques with ancient materials, mythology and imagery of the scarab. Egypt became easier for Grand Tourists to reach when steam ships began to travel regularly to Mediterranean ports in the 19th century and replicas joined genuine artifacts available as souvenirs.

The scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer) in Egypt was imitated in many durable materials, and used as an amulet or a seal. The flat underside often bore the name of a king or a decorative device. It represented ‘growth’ or ‘becoming’. An Egyptian myth describes the Khepri, an aspect of the god Ra, moving the sun across

Vase, French50Ushabiti figure, Egyptian

scores or hundreds of statuettes of faience, stone or wooden Ushabti or “answerer” figures. Sir Alan Gardiner summarizes, “The figures could stand in for the deceased, and often carried this spell in hieroglyphs, ‘If I am called upon, if I am appointed to do any work,...namely to cultivate the fields, to flood the river banks, or to carry the sand...then speak thou, “Here am I.’” Most often upright in posture, but sometimes posed in numerous daily chores, Ushabtis promised the dead an eternity of relief from toil.

115 KHAYAMIYA Egyptian Tent Hanging Needlework / Appliqué, 19th century Estate of Charles W. White 250.N.0077

This is a very small version of a khayamiya, also known as Egyptian tentmaker appliqué, a spectacular aspect of the living craft heritage of Egypt. It is traditionally hand-stitched by skilled men along the Sharia Khayamiya near Bab Zuweila in Cairo. They sit cross legged with their backs supported against a wall to appliqué small patches of colored cotton across a canvas backing, which is discretely marked out with a carefully ponced design for guidance. The process is handwork, using a needle, thimble, and large pair of tailor’s scissors. Cotton pieces are cut loosely and folded with precision to be sewn into specific shapes. The work is laborious, sophisticated, and surprisingly fast. Basic sewing machines are only used to join large panels together when constructing giant street tents or suradeq.

the sky, in analogy to the scarab rolling a dung ball.

Amethyst sealstones and jewelry became widely popular in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom (2000-1700 BCE), when Egyptians discovered the ancient world’s largest source of the purple gemstone in quarries at Wadi el-Hudi. Pharaohs sought out amethyst as one of the only natural sources of purple, and had craftsmen make it into jewelry for the elite. Until it was discovered in the Americas, amethyst’s rarity placed it in the company of fine gems like sapphire, emerald and ruby. To Greeks and Romans, its purple signified noble or royal status, and amethysts were used as amulets against drunkenness and poison, [and took its name from the Greek α+μεθυστος, or a (without) + methystos (drunken)]. Purple’s connotations with wine and royalty ensured it would remain important in the religious symbolism of Christianity as well. Other Near Eastern cultures also adapted scarab jewelry as seals or talismans.

113 BRACELET Egyptian Stone / Metal, early 19th century Gift of Mrs. Charles W. White 110.0061

114 USHABTIS Egyptian Stone / Wood, 19th century Estate of Mrs. John P. Huntington 230.0121, 230.0122, 230.0123, 230.0124

The tombs of the well-to-do in Ancient Egypt could contain

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They are arguably more ‘cheerful’ for Western tastes than the earlier Khedivals. Their Pharaonic content is indebted to books of reproductions published by authors, such as Georges Perrot and Charles Chipiez (“A History of Art in Ancient Egypt” 1883), in which conclusive links can be seen between the sequence of illustrated plates and adapted compositions used in touristic specimens. Tentmakers have reported that their regard for such appropriation is based not upon verisimilitude to the original, but instead the ability to interpret or combine multiple sources into a ‘new’ design - a trait that can also be seen when surveying Khedival khayamiya.

116 FRAGMENT OF AN OUTER MUMMY WRAPPING Egyptian Linen / Plaster, n.d. Gift of Raymond B. Case 180.0207

Contemporary khayamiya use soft commercial cottons and Egyptian-made threads in a vast array of colors.Historically the tent makers used cottons tinted with vegetable dyes, as these were most accessible in Egypt prior to the 1920s, as well as recycled scraps of clothing. In these respects, the historical techniques of quilting and khayamiya are remarkably similar. Contemporary khayamiya meet the ‘quilt’ definition of ‘three layers held together by thread’ because there are usually two layers under the appliqué (a heavier canvas and a soft face) but Khedival (1867-1914) khayamiya consist of appliqué over a canvas backing.

Handmade khayamiya originally took the form of large and elaborate tents or pavilions, like the magnificent travelling palaces of the Ottoman Empire. Such decorative textiles still perform conspicuous roles in Egyptian public and private life, as they are hired as backdrops and venues for weddings, funerals, feasts and many other celebrations.

Khayamiya were generally exposed to the dry and dusty open air of Egypt for extended periods. Since most specimens were enormous pavilions or suradeq, relatively few historic examples have survived.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Khayamiya were made specifically with the Grand Tourist in mind. These feature Pharaonic and folkloric (balladi) images, and are smaller, cheaper and more symbolically accessible to Europeans.

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Of note, these necklaces were taken by the donor, Mrs. J.J. Wyle, from the tomb in which they were found. Her story reads like a romance, “even after all this time, whenever I think of that experience, I feel again the excitement of groping about in the dark for objects which had been buried for thousands of years.”

In 1911, Georges Legrain (1865 – 1917), the celebrated French Egyptologist, led an expedition to reconstruct the Temple of Karnak at Thebes, the capital of the Egyptian empire. Mrs. Wyle, a friend of Legrain, was a member of the party. An underground passage was dug to the site, and led to a small temple that contained the tomb of a private citizen. The tomb yielded about thirty important bronzes, sandstone statues and alabaster jars which are now in the Cairo Museum.

The first object that Mrs. Wyle laid her hand upon was a large sandstone cat. Near it was a cat’s mummy with many strings of beads about its neck, a selection of which was eventually placed in the Cairo Museum. Mrs. Wyle was permitted to keep the duplicate necklaces, which are now displayed here at the Slater Museum. Such pillage is not condoned by the museum.

118 MASKS Ceylonese (present day Sri Lanka) Painted Wood, 19th century Loan by the Brooklyn Museum 230.0040 230.0041

In the Egyptian mummification process, the outer bandage was made of coarse linen coated with Gesso, or plaster, which, while wet was roughly molded to take the shape of the body. When the plaster hardened it was covered with decorative painting.

This design depicts Isis and Hathor. A goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, her influence spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was worshiped as the ideal mother, symbol of fertility, wife, patron of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden. Nevertheless, she listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.

117 NECKLACES Egyptian Egyptian faience, 323-30 B.C.E. Gift of Mrs. J. J. Wyle 110.0024

Egyptian faience is a non-clay based ceramic with surface vitrification (glass-like) which creates a bright lustre of various colours. Not made from clay, it is often not classed as pottery. It is called “Egyptian faience” to distinguish it from faience, the tin-glazed pottery associated with Faenza in northern Italy.

The beads of these necklaces appear to have been made in different ages. Some of the long, narrow-shaped beads probably date from the 18th dynasty (1550-1292 B.C.E.), others are of the type used for the network covering of a mummy in the late dynastic period, and many are from the Ptolemaic period.

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not only to entertain, but also to provide relief. It combines ancient Ayurvedic concepts of disease causation with psychological manipulation. Lasting for hours, the ritual combines raucous humor with deep-rooted fears to create a healing catharsis for both patient and community. The masked face of the edura, or exorcist/shaman, personifies the devil. The mask, or vesmuna, focuses the fears and anxieties of both patient and audience. To the Sinhalese, the face of the vesuma, with bulging eyes, protruding nose and gaping mouth, disfigured and fierce, represents both cause and cure. Carved of wood and pigmented with natural hues and resins, the masks are infused with a spirit and animation which command attention.

119 WALL COVERING Burmese Lacquerware, n.d. Gift of Faith Jennings 130.0020

Lacquer is tree sap, which sets as a natural flexible plastic resistant to water, heat, and insect-damage. It can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces such as wood, leather, metal and palm-leaf, but is most frequently used on split bamboo coiled or woven into vessels. As well as being used in its liquid form as varnish, glue or ink, the sap can be mixed with ash or sawdust to create a sculptable putty.

In Myanmar the lacquer tree (Gluta usitata) is not cultivated, and sap is collected from the forest. After collection, it turns black. Many of the lacquer production processes

Sri Lanka was the land predicted by the Buddha to be the stronghold of Buddhism in the future. Ceylon was a colonial outpost for the Portuguese, Dutch and British in succession. As the Spice Isle, it was the source of teas and spices which are still in demand around the world. It is home to some of the world’s most beautiful

landscapes and the scene of seemingly endless turmoil.

The medical systems of the Sinhalese have been renowned since the 1st century BCE when the northern capital in Anuradhapura boasted as many as eighteen hospitals. Traditional Ayurvedic principles balance internal humors to promote health. Predating these systems is an alternative method of healing, in which diseases and ills of all sorts were believed to be caused by demons usually identified by the patient’s symptoms. These demons can be summoned and exorcised through stylized ritual mask dances, or natima.

The yakun natima, or devil dance ritual of Sri Lanka, is full of drama designed

Ceylonese Mask

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has it removed by a crew of workman who dismantled the home when the Slaters left Norwich. Their property was sold and divided for the development of much smaller homes, still standing.

120 TREASURE BOX Filipino Brass, 19th century Gift of John Crockett TC2009.0001

Box of a tribal Sultan of the Marawi, the indigenous Muslim minority on the island of Mindanao and in Borneo. The four compartments on top of the box were designed to hold betel palm leaves, betel nuts, powdered lime and cigarettes. The Sultan, along with the males of his tribe, dipped the betel nut in lime, wrapped it in a palm leaf and placed it in the rear of their mouths, sucking on it to achieve a mild euphoria.

121 STANDING MEDITATIVE FIGURE Burmese Wood / Lacquer, c. 1800 Gift of Don Bates (NFA 1935) 230.0199

Gilded teak, intended to stand at an altar, holding a medicinal myrobalan fruit, it was revered as a healing and health-giving Buddha.

With its oval face, elongated arms and fingers, and carefully chiseled drapery, this wood-carved and gilded Buddha is characteristic of a style that developed in Mandalay in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Gilding of Buddha images considered

used today are the same as those recorded 170 years ago. Lacquer vessels are made by hand, and can undergo many different processes during production. Depending on the intricacy of the decoration, it can take three to four months to complete a small vessel while larger pieces can take over a year. No lacquer piece is the product of a single hand, but is the result of specialists in different techniques working together.

Lacquer vessels are not solid lacquer, but have a wood, bamboo or horse-hair base coated with layers of lacquer putty and liquid lacquer to create their characteristic smooth surface. The Burmese word yun means both ‘lacquer’ and a decorative engraving technique. Although gilding and relief decoration are also used, yun is the most common used on lacquerware.

Yun decoration is made of a series of tiny lines engraved on the surface of the lacquer object, which are then filled with colored lacquer. The most common colors for yun designs are red, green and yellow on red or black backgrounds. The majority of the engraving is done free-hand, though a compass is used for concentric lines. There are no pattern books; it is traditionally designed by eye. The decoration of a single object requires thousands of engraved lines with the design for the red, yellow or green engraved, coloured and then dried separately.

According to family lore, this piece is a small part of wall covering originally part of the Norwich home of William and Ellen Slater. The story

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123 GIRL CARRYING A JUG Egyptian Bronze, 19th century Gift of Mrs. Ralph E. Knup 230.0036

124 MODEL OF THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA Egyptian Bronze, early 20th century Gift of Raymond B. Case 170.0085

With deep pockets and aristocratic connections, privileged travellers visited ancient ruins and museums. Like travellers today, they bought souvenirs to be shipped back to furnish stately homes, serving as symbols of their owner’s worldliness and appreciation for ancient culture. The wealthiest of travellers could return with a painting of Venice to hang

a meritorious act. Gold powder is applied to wet lacquer made from tree sap, which is sometimes mixed with a red pigment made from cinnabar. Lacquer is also used to sculpt the curls of the Buddha’s hair and his ushnisha (a cranial protuberance signifying his status as an enlightened being).

122 SANTOS FIGURE Filipino Wood, n.d. Gift of John Crockett TC2009.0002

Santos figures are an early Christian art form found in many areas colonized by Spain.

During the 16th and 17th centuries Spain colonized the Philippine islands in order to gain better access to the spice trade, in competition with Portugal. In addition to expanding trade with Japan and China, Spain sought to spread Christianity. The pre-colonial religion of the indigenous Filipinos included monotheistic and polytheistic cults, nature worship and veneration of ancestors. . In the Philippines, santos figures were traditionally expensive and still distinguish a family for its wealth and status. Filipino Santos images blend Asian features and Western sculptural models. The characteristic meditative calm from the Buddhist tradition can appear in a santo in a range varying from an inscrutable stare to an incipient smile.

Standing Meditative Figure

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uniquely soft under wool by the 14th century. From Kashmir to India to Iran to Egypt, the Dutch East India Company and Napoleon’s soldiers brought home cashmere shawls. Empress Joséphine and fashionable French ladies could think of no more luxurious expense! Ladies in portraits wore them, and gentlemen chased ladies who had dropped them.

The tear-shaped motif, also called flower-shaped, or pine-cone shaped, took the name paisley from the Scot town of Paisley which had quickly learned to “reverse-hack” shawl elements, in order to make similar wool shawls cheaply and quickly. By 1850 the French had new mechanical loom technologies, so that the luxury for a queen that took 3 years to make could be imitated in weeks, at a twentieth of Joséphine’s price - one a commoner could afford. As supplies rose to meet the burgeoning demands of the market, Indian merchants in turn began to analyze the ideas and effects which European items and Jacquard loom technology could offer to Kashmiri weavers.

For a Grand Tourist, the warmth and light weight of cashmere remained a rare treasure to bring home, wherever one might find it.

127 EARRINGS Indian Glass / Metal, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0012

Bead art in India dates back five thousand years to the Indus Valley Civilization. Archeological digs

above their fireplace. The lowliest on the other hand, could purchase Piranesi etchings. In between were those who bought miniatures of statues like this.

126 SHAWL Indian Embroidered cashmere, 19th century Gift of Mrs. Morris Hawkes 250.W.0380

The fashion history of shawls is like a weaver’s shuttle which moves through the vertical warp threads of nations, coming and going, bringing cultural interpretations back and forth, sharing and sending technological innovations, by camel, by foot, by ship. Since the beginning of use of the warp weighted loom in the neolithic era, humans wove oblong rectangles of wool to wear for warmth and beauty. Ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used rectangular capes, chitons and togas, exchanging ideas about patterns, borders and fabrics with Celts, Parthians, Persians, Indians. By the time of the Roman Empire, linen, cotton and silk fabrics had traveled the routes, east, west, east; plaid, tweed, embroidery and dye colors followed, west, east, west.

Though a forbidding inland region, Kashmir has been a center of crossing cultural influences: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikh; Sanskrit, Persian, Mughal; Afghan, Indian, British. Shawls woven in Kashmir’s deserts, valleys, and mountains attracted international notice by the 11th century. Kashmir goats became famous for their

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of dismissing the body (kayotsarga).

130 NECKLACE Indian Beads / Glass, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0014

131 SHOES Turkish Velvet / Gilt, 19th century Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Henry J. Bernheim 30.A.0129

Turkey looks toward both Europe and Asia, and was for hundreds of years the center of the great Ottoman Empire. In its structure the Sultan’s court and harem functioned as a household, though profoundly influenced by trade, fashion and technology. Traditional home handcrafts in life at the Ottoman court became refined to the level of fine arts, and salaried artists and specialists were invited to live at the court.

18th century Europeans were attracted to the Ottoman court, writing home about the embroideries at the court which decorated coverings for couches, tables, walls, as well as clothing and personal accessories. 19th century tourists were fond of shopping for Turkish rococo embroidery which decorated prayer rugs and bedcovers. Most towns, large and small, offered bazaars and markets where simple shops stood side by side in rows. Usually these were arranged by craft or wares—coppersmiths, jewelers, cobblers, tailors, fabric stores and so on. Letters, contracts and local

have found beads of gold, silver, copper, clay, ivory and wood. During the Mughal era (1526-mid-19th century) , jewelry with precious and semiprecious stones was in vogue. The Mughals, conquerors from Central Asia, brought the technical knowledge required for gem-setting and established their power through the display of wealth. Precious metals and gems symbolized their near-divine stature. They limited jewelry to the ruling classes, anchoring jewelry’s high status in Indian society.

128 NECKLACE Indian Glass / Beads, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0014

129 JAIN TIRTHANKARA Indian Marble, 6th century Gift of Raymond Bailey Case 230.0021

This figure is of Lord Parsvanatha, who lived in India in the 8th century BCE, and is an important legendary figure in the religion of Jainism. He is the 23rd of 24 Jain teachers called “ford-makers” (tirthankara) who can show followers how to cross the sea of endless deaths and rebirths through meditation and compassion.

The four self-restraints he embraced were: do no harm (ahimsa), possess nothing (aparigraha) steal nothing (asteya), tell no lie (satya).

He is always depicted with a hood of seven serpents above him, and usually sits in a meditative lotus position, or stands in a symmetrical standing pose

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sources tell us a great deal about embroidery enterprises in Istanbul which employed hundreds of male and female workers, by the time the Slaters were traveling. Awareness of the economic value of needlecraft increased until embroidery was introduced in the curriculum of Turkish schools for girls in the second half of the nineteenth century.

132 RING Indian Turquoise / Silver, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0018

The earliest turquoise jewelry is from Ancient Mesopotamia around 5,000 BC and from Ancient Egyptian neolithic sites before 3,000BCE. In the ancient Persian Empire, (6th century BCE) the sky-blue gemstones were worn round the neck or wrist as protection against unnatural death.

133 CLASP Indian Turquoise / Silver, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0015

134 BUTTONS Indian Turquoise / Silver, 19th century Estate of Gertrude Gale 110.0016

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Turquoise Clasp

MISSION STATEMENT, NOVEMBER 2002

The Primary mission of the Slater Memorial Museum, since its founding in 1888, is to serve the Norwich Free Academy (NFA). The museum is charged with collecting, preserving, restoring, presenting and interpreting art and artifacts which support the fine arts and general curricula of NFA. The museum functions as an integral component of NFA, enhancing and enriching the school’s programs. As Norwich’s only art museum, the Slater serves the community and national and international visitors. The Slater invites active and collaborative learning and awakens visitors to the richness and diversity of the human experience through art and history. The Slater Memorial Museum strives to be a welcoming, living entity that promotes and instills a passion for art in everyone who enters. In carrying out this mission, the museum commits to the following goals:

To support and expand the Norwich Art School and fine arts curricula of NFA

To prepare NFA students for lifelong participation in museums, art appreciation, travel, research and study.

To serve the broadest population through the presentation and interpretation of the best examples of the traditions, heritage and art of world cultures.

To preserve and interpret the 19th century American museum concept of founders William A. Slater, Robert Porter Keep, Edward Robinson and Henry Watson Kent.

ART, INDUSTRY & LEARNING

108 CRESCENT ST. • NORWICH, CT 06360 860•887•2506 • www.norwichfreeacademy.com

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