Current Exhibits
Introducing:
ABCs of Furniture
The classic furniture styles of the past 350 years of decorative arts show distinct qualities that represent changing tastes in Britain and America. From the seventeenth-century colonial period through the era of Victoria, American households used household furnishings that remain strong as design influences into the 21st century.
The goal of this exhibit is to explain the differences between the classic furniture styles from 1650 to 1850 with examples from the W. Parsons Todd collection at Macculloch Hall and private collections. The styles explained will include: Jacobean, Queen Anne, Georgian, Regency, and Victorian for the British aspect, and the styles of Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Phyfe as interpreted in America.
Be Dazzled by the Splendors of Silver
Sugar Bowl and Pitcher, 1847-1900, Baltimore, Kirk & Son
Macculloch Hall reveals more than fifty pieces of American, English, and French silver from its collection in the exhibit The Splendors of Silver, open through January 2008. This exhibit is made possible with grants from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and the W. Parsons Todd Foundation.
The Splendors of Silver shows how silver has played a significant function in society. The role of silver in the world has varied from a means of currency, to ceremonial accessories, to household wares, and as expressions of social standing. The bright and shiny finish of silver has always attracted people to the metal. For these reasons the workers and designers of silver pieces have been some of the most skilled craftsmen of their times providing for the tastes of nobility, national heroes, presidents, and wealthy industrialists. The examples on display at Macculloch Hall range from 1680s “apostle spoons” to the lavish nineteenth-century Sheffield epergne on loan from the Morris County Historical Society at Acorn Hall.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries silver was not just made by larger companies like Tiffany & Company; many businesses were much smaller. Silversmithing was often a family affair and was not only limited to men. Many women were involved in their husband’s workshop with the selling and making of the wares. Women also took over the businesses of their deceased husbands, such as one of the most famous silversmiths, Hester Bateman of London. Hester, and later her sons, built her husband’s small silver business into one of the most successful of the eighteenth century.
The precious metal was a status symbol throughout the world. Even here in Morristown silver was produced, though on a much smaller scale than in the metropolitan areas of Paris, London, or New York. Cary Dunn was one of the few silversmiths to work in Morristown. Besides Morristown, silver was also produced in other parts of New Jersey by makers such as Aaron Lane and Nathanial Coleman. The splendors of silver were and continue to be seen at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum.