Green painted wooden frame with metal wires, modeled after the Rialto Bridge. Intricate wire scrollwork; four doors; two feed cups; hinged panel at either end for removal of trays (trays missing).

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Object Timeline

1915	Work on this object ended.
1916	We acquired this object.
2005	We photographed this object.
2013	This was an Object of the Day.
2014	We exhibited this object.
2021	You found it!

Rialto Bridge Birdcage, late 19th–early 20th century

This is a Birdcage. It is dated late 19th–early 20th century and we acquired it in 1916. Its medium is painted wood, bent metal wire, metal. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

When the Hewitt sisters travelled to Europe in pursuit of objects for the museum they were creating (see photo of Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt in a Venetian gondola), they collected items that, today, might not seem immediately relevant to a design museum—like birdcages. The European-focused Hewitt sisters acquired birdcages in various media, such as ceramics and glass. Others represent specific architecture from various locations.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled An exuberant birdcage.

This object was donated by Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Sarah Cooper Hewitt. It is credited Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.

A marble pulpit dramatically suspended between two flights of stairs, designed by de Waily, forms a bridge-like structure across the nave of the Church of Saint Sulpice. A priest, with upraised arms, preaches to the congregation seated in the foreground. A sculpture of Charity adorns the top of the pulpit. A sculpture of Faith (holding a chalice) adorns the left landing; the pedestal shows a bas-relief of the symbol of St. Luke (ox). On the right landing, a sculpture of Hope (holding an anchor) rests on a pedestal decorated with a bas relief of St. Mark's symbol (the lion).

Drawing, View of the Pulpit, Saint Sulpice, Paris (Second Project), 1789
pen and black ink, brush and watercolor, black chalk on white laid paper .
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
1911-28-293

Photograph of a section of a large suspension bridge, possibly Verrazano bridge, with red overlay. Text bottom center, in white vertically oriented: "65 bridges to new york."

Poster, 65 Bridges of New York, 1968
photo-offset lithograph and screenprint on paper .
Gift of Sara and Marc Benda.
2009-20-50

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 47.6 x 85.7 x 35.6 cm (18 3/4 x 33 3/4 x 14 in.)

Cite this object as

Rialto Bridge Birdcage, late 19th–early 20th century; Previously owned by Alexander Wilson Drake (American, 1843-1916); Italy; painted wood, bent metal wire, metal; H x W x D: 47.6 x 85.7 x 35.6 cm (18 3/4 x 33 3/4 x 14 in.); Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt; 1916-19-14

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Hewitt Sisters Collect.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2Bdnp/
Accession Number 1916-19-14
Object ID 18187025