Summer 2013-Spring 2014: Egg Beater
Hungry? In the mood for an omelet? Eighteenth-century cooks used small, circular, covered vessels like these examples–made by Wedgwood of creamware, a kind of low-fired earthenware ceramic–to beat an egg. […]
Collections
August 2013: Dawn
L’Aurore (Dawn), William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1881 Dawn – early morning represented by a female figure reaching back to smell a blooming calla lily – exemplifies William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s standards of beauty and […]
July 2013: Perfume Fountain
Perfume Fountain, French, about 1710 Porcelain, a ceramic material first made in China, was a staple of trade between Europe and East Asia. Though the present in Europe in the […]
June 2013: Portland Vase copy
Portland Vase Copy, Josiah Wedgwood, 1789 A Roman artist carved the Portland Vase from cameo glass around the 1st century AD. Unearthed in the late 16th or early 17th century, […]
May 2013: School of Beauty, School of Culture
School of Beauty, School of Culture, Kerry James Marshall, 2012 For many African American artists born during the Civil Rights Movement, turbulent events they witnessed or experienced growing up during […]
April 2013: Urn Representing Cosijo, the God of Rain
Urn Representing Cosijo, the God of Rain, Zapotec culture, Mexico, about AD 450 You can’t take it with you – or can you? The saying “you can’t take it with […]
March 2013: Shiva and Parvati
Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Mahesvara), Indian, about 1150 Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Mahesvara) once adorned a temple in Halebid, India. This sculpture depicts the Hindu gods Shiva, his wife Parvati, and their […]
February 2013: Power Figure (Nkishi)
Power Figure (Nkishi), Songye People Every culture has idea about power and how to represent it. Some may define power as physical strength; others may conceive of it as the […]
January 2013: The Sorceress
L’envoûteuse (The Sorceress), Georges Merle The worldview of Europeans in the 19th century expanded far beyond their own borders. While Napoleon’s military campaigns exposed the French to Moorish culture in […]
December 2012: Cradleboard
Cradleboard, Kiowa or Comanche people, about 1850-1870 The Kiowa and Comanche peoples once inhabited the plains and hills of central North America. Rather than establishing permanent settlements for farming, these […]
Winter 2012-Spring 2013: Asparagus Shells
These small, flat receptacles are called asparagus shells. During the 18th century in England, highly decorated ceramic asparagus shells graced the elegant dining tables of the wealthiest individuals, who used […]
November 2012: The Ascetic Sakyamuni
The Ascetic Sakyamuni, Chinese Buddhist practitioners strive for nirvana, or enlightenment, when they no longer yearn for earthly temptations or desires. For Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha and the religion’s most […]