Day 372 - Renaissance Revival room, aka Meriden room


 August 1, 2024

Gallery 737 is a long, essentially rectangular space at one end of gallery 736; measuring perhaps 50 feet long and 20 feet wide, it's small only in comparison to the neighboring gallery. The "Renaissance Revival room," as it's called, served as the back parlor of the Meriden, CT mansion of Mr. and Mrs. Jedediah Wilcox, a manufacturer of hoop skirts, carpetbags, and other woolen products. Designed by an architect and built in 1868-1870, the house combined French and Italian elements, including a mansard roof and a rectangular tower; a photo of the house on the museum's website shows that it was really grand in scale (40 rooms!) and must have been quite an imposing place. 

I learn that the term "Renaissance Revival" refers not specifically to the Italian Renaissance but to an eclectic mix of European style elements.  I especially note the Corinthian columns framing a window and a statue on a pedestal at one end, along with two wall niches holding classical statues at the opposite end.  On one of the long walls is a marble mantel topped by a huge mirror that must be seven feet high. Unusually, the rosewood furniture, upholstered in deep red fabric,  is original to the room. So are a large candelabra and several wall sconces that were initially outfitted for gas but were electrified for use at the Met. Nonetheless, the room is quite dark; I wonder what whether it was equally dark in its original setting.

The room is a reminder of how much wealth existed in New England mill towns 150 years ago. It's sad to read on the Met website that the property was acquired by the Mobil Oil Company, which planned to knock down the house and build a gas station and motel on the site, and that the townspeople of Meriden couldn't raise enough money to buy out Mobil. The gas station and motel never got built, and the property has since been developed for commercial and residential purposes. Before the house was demolished, Yale got some of the front parlor's design elements. 

Sic transit....

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