Furniture Forum brochure

13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 5
THE SEWELL C. BIGGS
WINTERTHUR FURNITURE FORUM
EXOTIC WOODS, MASTERFUL MAKERS:
TROPICAL HARDWOODS AND THE LUXURY
FURNITURE TRADE, 1600–1850
April 7–9, 2016
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 6
A
marillo, brazilletto, calamander, ebony, mahogany, rosewood, sabicu,
satinwood, and snakewood: these are but a few of the many hardwoods shipped
from tropical forests to ports throughout the Western world, starting in the 1590s,
for use as dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, flavorants, and in shipbuilding, architecture,
and luxury furniture. At first expensive and available only in small amounts for the
furniture trade, cabinetmakers chose exotic tropical hardwoods to decorate their
best pieces. When England’s parliament ended import duties on lumber in 1721,
merchants rushed to profit from trade in tropical hardwoods, especially woods
marketed as mahogany. Cabinetmakers and consumers quickly adopted mahogany,
cedrela, and similar species for their most fashionable furniture. Consumers relished
the rich colors and eye-catching figures of tropical woods, used both for solid work
and veneers. Cabinetmakers valued their dimensional stability and workability. In
their best furniture made from these woods, cabinetmakers aligned design and
materials, merging art and nature to create powerful aesthetic statements. At the
same time, the unregulated harvest of exotic hardwood species for the furniture
and shipbuilding trades depended on the labor of enslaved workers and contributed
to changes in tropical forests, a legacy that continues to the present.
Henry Francis du Pont evinced a particular fondness for 18th-century American
mahogany furniture. In assembling the collections at Winterthur, he created a worldclass destination for viewing furniture crafted from this and other extraordinary
tropical hardwoods. We invite you to join us for an invigorating series of talks, tours,
and workshops focusing on the luxury furniture trade. Explore these exotic woods
and enjoy revealing scholarship to include:
•
Mahogany and the coinciding revolution in 18th-century furniture design;
•
Mahogany furniture made in the major cabinetmaking centers of the
Americas, from Boston, Newport, and Philadelphia to Nassau, Bahama,
and Havana, Cuba;
•
Historic trade in mahogany and other tropical furniture hardwoods such
as ebony, cedrela, sabicu, satinwood, and rosewood;
•
Historic practices used to harvest, grade, market, and machine mahogany
lumber and veneers;
•
The current status of mahogany and related commercial tropical hardwoods
around the world.
Sponsored in part by
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 7
Cover: High chest, made by Benjamin Frothingham Jr., Charlestown, Mass., 1760–85. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1967.1445; fold-in page: A CHART of the
WESTINDIES From the latest Marine JOURNALS and SURVEYS (detail), William Barker (Engraver), Mathew Carey (Publisher), Philadelphia, 1795–1818. Gift of Dean
A. Fales, Jr. 1954.0026; Inside: Illustration from Chaloner & Fleming (Liverpool, Eng.), The Mahogany Tree. Liverpool: Rockliff and Son, 1850. Printed Book and
Periodical Collection, Winterthur Library; chest, Rhode Island, 1795–1805. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1961.0950; sideboard with knife boxes, Joseph B. Barry,
Philadelphia, 1808–15. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Henry Francis du Pont Collectors Circle 1988.0008 and 1988.0008.002, .003. Reverse side: tea
table (detail), New York, 1765–75. Gift of Henry Francis du Pont 1959.2928. Mailing panel: tea table, Philadelphia, 1765–80. Gift of Henry Francis du Pont 1960.1061
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 8
FU R NITURE FORUM SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
Thursday
9:00–9:10 am
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
J. Thomas Savage, Director of Museum
Affairs, Winterthur
9:10–9:25 am
Exotic Woods and the Winterthur Museum, Garden
& Library Collections
Gregory J. Landrey, Dwight and Lorri
Lanmon Director of Academic Affairs,
Winterthur
9:25–10:10 am
From Rainforest to Parlor: Mahogany in
Early America
Jennifer Anderson, Associate Professor of
History, Stony Brook University, University
of New York
10:10–10:40 am
Morning Break
10:40–11:25 am
Cómodas Cubanas: Sacristy Chests and the Mahogany
Trade on the Island of Cuba
Dennis Carr, Carolyn and Peter Lynch
Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
3:20–3:40 pm
Afternoon Break
3:40–4:00 pm
Object Presentation
Rosalie Hooper, Lois F. McNeil Fellow,
Winterthur Program in American
Material Culture
4:00–4:45 pm
The Most Fashionable Assortment: Woods in
Philadelphia Furniture, 1700–1820
Alexandra Kirtley, The MontgomeryGarvan Curator of American Decorative
Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art
4:45–5:30 pm
What’s In a Name? That Which We Call a
Rose(wood) by Any Other Name Would Smell As
Sweet
Page Talbott, President and CEO,
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
5:30–7:45 pm
Reception
Galleries Reception Atrium
11:25 am–12:10 pm
Ingrained: Nathaniel Gould and the Mahogany Trades
in 18th-Century Salem
Kem Widmer, Researcher, North Shore
Decorative Arts Research, Cornish Flat, NH
12:10–1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30–1:50 pm
Object Presentation
Amy Griffin, Lois F. McNeil Fellow,
Winterthur Program in American
Material Culture
1:50–2:35 pm
“We hear the sound of hammers and the grating
of saws”: Chinese Export Furniture
Karina Corrigan, H. A. Crosby Forbes
Curator of Asian Export Art, Peabody Essex
Museum, Salem, MA
2:35–3:20 pm
Sylva’s Exquisite Corpse: Exotic Woods, Exotic
Applications of Local Woods, and the Tree Origin/
Wood Identification/ Lumber Trade/ Furniture
Origin Equation
Alan Miller, Antiques and Decorative Arts
Consultant, Quakertown, PA
To register, please call 800.448.3883 or visit winterthur.org/furnitureforum.
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 9
FU R NITURE FORUM SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, APRIL 8 & SATURDAY, APRIL 9
Friday
9:00–9:05 am
Welcome Remarks
Joshua W. Lane, Lois F. and Henry S.
McNeil Curator of Furniture, Winterthur
9:05–9:45 am
The Wendy A. Cooper Furniture Forum
Lecture
Tropical Woods in British and North American
Furniture, 1600–1800: A Political and
Economic History
Dr. Adam Bowett, Independent
Furniture Historian, North Yorkshire, UK
9:45–10:30 am
Jamaica; the Land of Wood and Water
Dr. John Cross, Senior Lecturer in
Cultural Studies at the Sir John Cass
Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design
London Metropolitan University
10:30–11:00 am
Morning Break
11:00–11:45 am
Exotic Woods and Veneer in Pre-1730 New England
Robert F. Trent, Private Consultant and
Historic Upholsterer, Wilmington, DE
11:45 am–12:30 pm
The Red and the Black: Snakewood and Other
Tropical Hardwoods in Early New England Furniture
Gerald W. R. Ward, The Katharine Lane
Weems Senior Curator of American
Decorative Arts and Sculpture Emeritus,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
12:30–1:50 pm
Lunch
1:50–2:10 pm
Winterthur Object Presentation
Catharine Dann Roeber, Assistant
Professor of Decorative Arts and Material
Culture, Winterthur
2:10–3:40 pm
The Robert Francis Fileti Endowed
Lecture/Video Assist Demonstration
Carving a Piecrust Table Top
Gregory J. Landrey, Dwight and Lorri
Lanmon Director of Academic Affairs,
Winterthur & Alan Breed, Cabinet
Maker, Rollinsford, NH
3:40–4:00 pm
Afternoon Break
4:00–4:10 pm
Research Discovery
Harvesting Honduras Mahogany: The Dominy
Connection
Charles Hummel, Curator Emeritus,
Winterthur
4:10–4:55 pm
Plain, Branch, Mottle & Curl: Circular-Sawing
of Mahogany Veneers in Boston by Baldwin
Mills, 1825–1859
Robert D. Mussey, Jr., Milton, MA
4:55–5:40 pm
Mahogany and the Making of the Central
American Landscape
Craig S. Revels, Associate Professor of
Geography, Central Washington
University, WA
5:40 pm
Farewell
Saturday
9:00–10:30 am and 11:00 am–12:30 pm
Optional Workshops or Field Trip
Please see workshop descriptions for more
information on options and registration.
To register, please call 800.448.3883 or visit winterthur.org/furnitureforum.
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 2
OPTIONAL WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOPS OPTIONS
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
9:00–10:30 AM AND 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Only registered conference attendees may participate in workshops or field trip. As workshops fill quickly, we
will do our best to accommodate your first choice on a first-registered, first-served basis. Please plan on
arriving in the Galleries Reception Atrium at least 10–15 minutes prior to workshop time. $75 per workshop.
Mahogany/Braziletto/Cedrella/Sabicu and
Beyond: Object-Based Macroscopic Study
of Tropical Hardwoods
Gregory J. Landrey, Dwight and Lorri Lanmon
Director of Academic Affairs, Winterthur, Mark
Anderson, Senior Furniture Conservator, Winterthur,
and Joshua W. Lane, Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil
Curator of Furniture, Winterthur
Learn to recognize features of wood by eye to help in
identifying wood types and in distinguishing
temperate and tropical hardwoods. Insight into the
working characteristics of tropical hardwoods will be
gained through close study of tool marks and other
clues on furniture in Winterthur’s collection.
Bermuda Cedar Furniture: The Development
of an Island Aesthetic, 1680–1780
Keith Adams, Private Collector, New Castle, Delaware
Objects from the presenter’s own collection,
supplemented by examples from Winterthur, will
ground the study of forms, materials, construction,
and decoration unique to furniture made in Bermuda,
with emphasis on developing connoisseurship skills
and gaining perspective on the current marketplace.
Secondary Woods in British Furniture
Dr. Adam Bowett, Independent Furniture Historian
Drawing on examples from the presenter’s
foundational 2003 reference book, Woods in British
Furniture-Making, 1400–1900, supplemented by
examples from Winterthur, participants will gain
insight into secondary woods used in British
furniture, complicating received wisdom about the
availability and use of temperate and tropical forest
species in both England and America.
Tropical Hardwood Identification: 50 Shades
of Brown
Dr. Harry Alden, Alden Identification Service
Hone skills at identifying major tropical hardwood
genera and species used in the historic furniture
trade through close study with a professional wood
analyst. Examples from Winterthur will provide
opportunity for close study.
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 3
OPTIONAL FIELD TRIP
FIELD TRIP TO HEARNE HARDWOODS
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
9:00 AM–12:30 PM
Spend Saturday morning at one of the largest specialty lumber
yards worldwide. Hearne Hardwoods has more than 140 species
of domestic and exotic hardwood lumber in stock. During
this two-hour tour, learn the process by which logs are
turned first into lumber and then into products. Proprietor
Rick Hearne and staff will cover processes and techniques
including forest management, machining
for musical instrument building,
and milling and drying.
Please note that field trip
participants will provide
their own transportation.
Directions to Hearne
Hardwoods will be
distributed upon
registration.
INFORMATION
All lectures will be held in Copeland Lecture Hall (located in the Visitor Center). Optional workshops ($75 each) will
take place at Winterthur on Saturday, April 9. Please plan on arriving in the Galleries Reception Atrium at least 10
to 15 minutes prior to workshop time. Please note that field trip participants will provide their own transportation.
Directions to Hearne Hardwoods (a 30-minute drive from Winterthur) will be distributed upon registration.
Conference Fee: $435; $375 Members of Winterthur and nonprofit professionals; $200 students and graduates
within the past five years with valid student ID.
Fee Includes: Thursday and Friday lectures, lunches, and coffee breaks; Thursday evening reception. Extra
fee for optional workshops and field trip ($75 each).
Cancellation: Winterthur reserves the right to cancel the conference or tours. Should Winterthur cancel, participants
will be issued a full refund. Furniture Forum participants who cancel by March 16, regardless of the reason, will be
issued a full refund minus a $50 handling fee. No refunds after March 16.
Lodging: Lodging is the responsibility of the registrant. Winterthur will provide a list of local accommodations
upon request. Please ask when you call to register.
Scholarships: The Sewell C. Biggs Furniture Forum Endowment and the Foundation for Appraisal Education
generously underwrote scholarships for graduate students and young professionals in the decorative arts or
related fields wishing to attend the 2016 Furniture Forum. The FAE scholarship is named in honor of the late
Wendell D. Garrett. For application information, visit winterthur.org/furnitureforum or call 800.448.3883.
Scholarship application deadline is March 1, 2016.
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 1
SATURDAY PREFERENCES
Winterthur is pleased to offer 2016 Furniture Forum participants the option to register for
workshops or an optional field trip on Saturday, April 9.
OPTIONAL WORKSHOP PREFERENCES
Saturday, April 9, 9:00–10:30 am and 11:00 am–12:30 pm
Please indicate your preferences in order below. We will accommodate your workshop
preferences on a first-registered, first-served basis.
Workshop Session One: Saturday, April 9, 9:00–10:30 am
First Preference
Alternate 1
Alternate 2
Workshop Session Two: Saturday, April 9, 11:00 am–12:30 pm
First Preference
Alternate 1
Alternate 2
or
Field Trip: Saturday, April 9, 9:00 am–12:30 pm
o Field Trip to Hearne Hardwoods, Oxford, PA
13120 FF Brochure 2016_FOR ONLINE_2013 1/14/16 1:47 PM Page 10
THE SEWELL C. BIGGS WINTERTHUR FURNITURE FORUM
Exotic Woods, Masterful Makers: Tropical Hardwoods
and the Luxury Furniture Trade, 1600–1850
April 7–9, 2016
R E GI STR ATI ON FORM
3 WAYS TO REGISTER
• Complete form and mail with payment to Winterthur Information and Tours Office, 5105 Kennett
Pike, Winterthur, Delaware 19735.
• Complete form and fax to 302.888.4953.
• Call 800.448.3883.
Registration Fee Includes: Thursday and Friday lectures, lunches, and coffee breaks; Thursday
evening reception; option of registering for workshops or field trip ($75 each).
r Winterthur and nonprofit professionals ......................................................................................$375
Winterthur Member # ____________ (Nonprofit professionals, include business card.)
r Nonmembers................................................................................................................................$435
(Nonmember registrants receive a complimentary one-year membership to Winterthur.)
r Students and graduates within the past five years ...................................................................$200
(Include a copy of current or recent student ID.)
r Scholarships have generously been sponsored by the Sewell C. Biggs Furniture Forum Endowment
and the Foundation for Appraisal Education ................................................................................$0
(See Information section within.)
r Optional workshops or field trip $75 each ......................................................................$_______
r I/We would like to make a gift to the Winterthur
Scholarship Fund* ...........................................................................................................$_______
TOTAL ENCLOSED ..................................................................................................................$_______
Name (as you would like it listed on your name tag and on the participant list)
Address
City
State
Zip code
Daytime telephone
E-mail
r
r
Check enclosed, payable to Winterthur Museum
Charge my
Account number
m Visa
m MasterCard
m American Express
m Discover
Exp. date
Cardholder name
Signature
For more information, please call 800.448.3883 or visit winterthur.org/furnitureforum.
*The Scholarship Fund provides conference registration fees for students and young professionals in the decorative arts field and
related studies. Your gift is tax deductible; a receipt will be provided.
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library • 5105 Kennett Pike • Winterthur, Delaware • 19735