Day 258 - 19th century curiosities




 August 7, 2021

Gallery 706 contains many display cases of 19th and early 20th century ceramics, silver, and cut and mold-blown glass, along with two cases of brooches, earrings, and other items of jewelry. I can't say I like most of the works, some of which seem overly ornate and grandiose.

Three, though, capture my attention because they are so weird. The first is a snake jug, perhaps 14 inches high and 9 inches across, made in the Anna Pottery in Anna, Illinois around 1877.  I learn that Anna is located  in southern Illinois, very close to the Missouri and Kentucky borders. (But was I even aware that Illinois borders on Kentucky? I'm not sure!)  The placard describes the jug as made of salt-glazed stoneware with cobalt decoration. But what strange, unsettling decoration it is: snakes (rattlers, by the look of them) coiled around the body of the jug and forming its handle. The body of one of the snakes encircles a human head; another seems to be in the process of devouring a small child whose legs and rump protrude from the beast's mouth. Is there some kind of religious symbolism attached to this -- snake as tempter? Is there an implicit warning about the dangers of drunkenness? Or were the ceramists, Cornwall and Wallace Kirkpatrick (brothers, I'd guess, from their dates) just having fun?

A second object, a porcelain "Liberty cup and saucer," about 4 or 5 inches high, was made by the Union Porcelain Works in Brooklyn in 1876 to mark the nation's centennial. A sign says that the designer, Karl I.H. Miller, drew his inspiration from various sources, including classical and Egyptian motifs, current events, and native flora and fauna.  Muller apparently was unable to say "enough." The main decorative element is a seated figure representing, I presume, Justice (she holds a scale) surrounded by large stalky plants; the white shapes appearing in relief against a gray ground resemble Wedgwood. The handle is something else entirely, a mauve-gowned  female figure wearing a gold headdress. She looks vaguely like Lady Liberty, vaguely like the Madonna. And the interior of the cup and saucer are decorated with cobalt blue and gold. It's all highly elaborate and incoherent.  

But I really like the third object, a round Tiffany & Company tray, perhaps 8 inches in diameter, made of silver, copper, brass, and gold and dating to 1879-1880. Its key design elements are a rather scrawny frog that leaps up from a body of water marked by delicate aquatic plants, all set against an orange setting (or rising?) sun. It reminds me somehow of something Japanese. I can't quite imagine what so small a tray  would be good for, but I like the designer's sense of humor.

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