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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
1926	We acquired this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object.
2019	We photographed this object.
2022	You found it!

Chest (USA)

This is a Chest. It was made by Unknown. It is dated ca. 1825 and we acquired it in 1926. Its medium is mahogany, brass, gilt bronze. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Annie Schermerhorn Kane and her husband, a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, collected antiques both in Europe and at home, many of which came to Cooper-Hewitt for study as examples of good design.

This object was bequest of Mrs. John Innes Kane. It is credited Bequest of Mrs. John Innes Kane.

Armchair With Slip Seat (USA)
turned joined mahogany-veneered oak, horse hair upholstery (probably replaced).
Gift of Norvin Hewitt Green.
1938-58-1083

Secretary
mahogany, glass, and brass.
Lent by Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York. Museum purchase, acquired....
87.2016.1

Center Table (USA)
gilt and painted mahogany.
Gift of Mrs. John Innes Kane.
1920-19-87

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Five-Piece Tea And Coffee Service
silver, ebonized wood.
Lent by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Anonymous Gift, 1986.778-.782.
54.2016.2a/e

Pine blanket chest painted with scenes reminiscent of Persian miniatures. Although made in the 1920’s, the chest was created to look like an 18th-century piece.

Blanket Chest, ca. 1921
pine, gesso, lacquer.
Lent by Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 67.271.1.
33.2016.2

The tapestry has two scenes, one framing the other. The “frame” depicting pre-commerce Newark, shows four 'idealized' indigenous figures involved at various tasks in a forest-like setting. Through the “window” we get a bird's-eye view of Newark transformed from idyllic wilderness into an active maritime community with a wide main road lined with houses, leading to a snaking waterway with clipper ships (sailing ships with several masts). The indigenous figures are at the bottom and take up about one-third of the tapestry. They are the largest elements in the work and they and their surroundings are rendered in great detail (albeit stylized). From viewer’s left: a bare breasted woman with braids and headband, wearing a white “mini” skirt with geometric decorations, and white moccasins with red trim carries a basket. She stands on the bank of a flowing stream. A canoe is partially visible amongst the reeds, cattails and other low vegetation. In front of the canoe an animal skin is stretched on a circular form. Moving to the right, on the other bank a young boy lies on the ground, resting on his elbows. His back to the viewer, he appears naked save for a headband with two upright feathers. Further to the right, a sinewy man is kneeling on one foot grinding something in a large bowl. He has both hands around the tall vertical grinding tool. Other tools and a number of large clam shells are alongside him. (He may be grinding shells for beads or other uses.) He is naked except for a loin cloth, and bald except for a braided strip of hair in the center running from forehead to his back. Slightly to the right and above the kneeling figure is a standing figure in a loin cloth holding a bow and arrow. He emerges out of a growth of tall grass-like plants and shrubs. The figures are situated in a forest scene which continues up the vertical sides of the frame. There are leafy trees with birds and other animals on the branches. Two running deer are visible in a distant clearing. The alternating splashes of colors in the leaves, red, orange and numerous shades of blue-greens, create a sense of dynamism. The tree branches rising vertically along with some rocky cliff formations help draw the attention upwards. At the top of the frame, an eagle flies majestically in the center. On top corner there is a shield with some markings (they don’t appear random and may be symbols of some kind). The inner scene is a bird's-eye view or vista of a developed community with one, two, and three story houses on either side of a wide road. A horse drawn carriage and some people are on the road. There are open farmland fields and an area with a mass of trees. The road leads to a sinuous waterway on which there are ships with unfurled sails and a windmill. The details become less distinct as the scene “moves” into the distance. The 'window' scene is separated from the 'frame' scene by a decorative motif with a zigzag pattern. The outer frame itself has a decorative border with triangle shapes. These appear to approximate patterns from indigenous cultures. The overall color scheme appears “soft” and calm: vegetation in shades of teal (dark and light blue-greens), the houses, people, and road in various shades of taupe and brown, very pale blue in the sky and water, and red-orange leaves and accents throughout.

Tapestry, 1925
wool.
Collection of the Newark Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Club of Newark,....
40.2016.2

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 67.5 × 63.5 × 45.7 cm (26 9/16 in. × 25 in. × 18 in.)

It is inscribed

"No. 2" (in script) on back and bottom of the bottom drawer "No. 1" (in script) on the bottom of the top drawer

Cite this object as

Chest (USA); Made by Unknown ; mahogany, brass, gilt bronze; H x W x D: 67.5 × 63.5 × 45.7 cm (26 9/16 in. × 25 in. × 18 in.); Bequest of Mrs. John Innes Kane; 1926-22-90-a/c

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2BRGn/
Accession Number 1926-22-90-a/c
Object ID 18312593