This globular-bodied Early Nasca style vessel presents two monumental images of the Andean condor. The boldly outlined geometrical shapes of the birds and their abstracted mountain environment match beautifully with the vessel’s curves. Like most ancient Peruvian ceramics, this vessel was made without recourse to a potter’s wheel. Built up from coils of clay, it […]
Wedgwood & Sons Pitcher, ca. 1880
March 27, 2014 By
Born in Portland in 1807, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bowdoin class of 1825, returned to teach French, Spanish and Italian languages in 1829. A young and successful professor, Longfellow soon accepted a professorship at Harvard College in 1834. By the mid-nineteenth century Longfellow retired from teaching, becoming one of America’s first self-sustaining authors. With the publication […]
Japanese Lunchbox Set, 1600–1867
February 27, 2014 By
Lacquer has been used in the arts of Japan for over 6,000 years. Created from the viscous sap of the urushi tree, the raw toxic material is processed into safe, durable, and luminous surfaces for objects such as this tiered lunchbox. The pleasures of the consumption of food are enhanced by the aesthetic enjoyment offered […]
Coffer with print depicting the Monogram of Christ, ca. 1490–1500
February 13, 2014 By
French, probably Paris Coffer (book box?) with woodcut depicting the Monogram of Christ, ca. 1490–1500 wood, paper, metal, and red canvas Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund 2008.8 In the 1480s King Louis XI of France passed laws that required travelers to carry identification while traversing roads and entering city boundaries. This […]
