Continuing Connoisseurship

The WPAMC class of ’17 hit the ground running after our return from England! After a week recuperating, we began an in-depth study of American and European ceramics with Winterthur’s Curator of Glass and Ceramics, Leslie Grigsby. Our time with Leslie took off with several sessions dedicated to learning about the history and manufacture of glass. Winterthur’s glass collection provides students with an amazing resource for studying the objects’ material culture.  Our class’s focus on glass soon shifted to the study of ceramics. From red earthenware to hard-paste porcelain, Winterthur’s culture fellows have trained their eyes and hands to identify the range of ceramics that we will encounter in future studies and careers! Below, you can see several pieces that the class of 2017 has engaged with over the past several weeks.

  

Right: Just a few of the many glass objects available to Winterthur fellows for study. Left: WPAMC fellow Trevor Brandt examines a vase from the collection.

An intensive month of ceramics soon gave way to two equally interesting topics—books and textiles. Although scholarly use of books almost always focuses on what is written on their pages, Winterthur Librarian Emily Guthrie will teach us how to develop our understanding of the material culture of books by examining the pages, spine, and covers themselves. Although we have only had a single session with Emily so far, we look forward to using the Winterthur Library’s collection to expand our knowledge of history and the decorative arts! 

Here, several students examine books in Winterthur’s Rare Books Room.

We also look forward to learning about textiles and using them to understand our past. Winterthur’s curator of textiles, Linda Eaton, began class with the basics last week as we surveyed several common fibers and the weave structures that give form to our everyday fabrics. In order to more concretely understand the makeup of historic textiles, we even got the chance to supplement our notes with experience on one of Winterthur’s reconstruction looms. Much to our relief, creating a plain weave structure is easier than it looks!

WPAMC Fellow Kristen Semento tries her hand at weaving on a modern loom.

Continue to follow our progress in our books and textile connoisseurship blocks over the next several weeks!

 

By Trevor Brandt, WPAMC Class of 2017