Armchair [1985.B.14], 18th century, Philadelphia
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The following essay is from the 1989 publication American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, by Charles L. Venable.
Tea Table, 18th century, Hartford, Connecticut
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
During the late 17th century, the drinking of tea became fashionable in the British Empire. In response to this new practice, utensils such as teapots, teaspoons, strainers, tea caddies, and teacups were invented or introduced from the Near East. Tea tables with pronounced upper rims were developed about 1700 to support these various devices and to prevent accidents.
Sol Lewitt's Wall Drawings
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Stars with three-, four-, five-, six-, seven, eight-, and nine-point stars, drawing with a four and one-half-inch band of yellow ink wash. The area inside the band is red color ink wash and the area outside the band is blue color ink wash. The stars are separated by areas of gray wash.
Drawn by: Anthony Sansotta, Jo Watanabe, David Higginbotham and Mark Snedegar, April, 1985.
Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., Tall clock
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The following essay is from the 1989 publication American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, by Charles L. Venable.
Equilibres/Quiet Afternoon
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In this series of photographs, Peter Fischli (b. 1952) and David Weiss (1946-2012) created a number of precarious constructions out of everyday objects and then photographed them. Working across media (photography, film, sculpture, and installation), Fischli and Weiss were masters at conjuring everyday materials into art.
Male Ancestor Figure (itara)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Itara are highly conventionalized wooden images representing a family’s most prominent founding ancestors.
Woman's ceremonial skirt (tapis), 1983.68
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Reflecting one’s rank and purpose, the majority of ceremonial skirts of the Abung consist of horizontal stripes of plain weave of varying widths. Couched gold thread is used to create raised designs that range from decorating only a few narrow bands on a skirt to covering nearly its entire surface.
Woman's ceremonial skirt (tapis), 1983.67
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This opened tubular skirt, with its remarkable embroidered center panel, is a singular piece. Its rich mixture of local and sought-after foreign materials, its palette of golden colors, and its shimmering opulence convey the aesthetics associated with status.
Woman's ceremonial skirt (tapis)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Boats are a ubiquitous and seminal symbol in the textile arts of Lampung. Renderings of fanciful ships were based on a weaver’s skill and the imagination of the men who reportedly drew the storyboards that portrayed vessels.
Woman's ceremonial skirt (kain inu)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Many of Indonesia’s oldest artistic conventions were perpetuated by peoples living in the interior or more inaccessible areas of an island, as opposed to relatively more accessible coastal areas. This ceremonial heirloom skirt was created by women living in the remote mountainous highlands surrounding Lake Ranau.