decorative arts & design
The Brooks’ decorative arts collection of more than 2,000 European and American objects includes ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, and textiles. Modern and contemporary design encompasses a wide range of objects from quilts to Michael Graves’ projects for Target. A selection of these works is displayed throughout the galleries.
American to 1900
The majority of American decorative arts in the museum’s collection range from the mid-18th to late- 19th century and includes examples of pressed and blown glass, beadwork, silver, embroideries, furniture, quilts, and coverlets. Among the highlights are a Townsend family long-case clock, a Boston highboy, a New York Pembroke table, early Keene and Cleveland glasswork, overshot and double weave coverlets, white-work garments, and a pair of silver Tiffany ewers. The collection also includes several examples of Tennessee furniture, most notably a sugar chest and a Wilson County Sideboard.
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European to 1900
The majority of the decorative arts in the permanent collection are European, with English objects predominating. This includes Paul Storr silver, a large selection of 19th century lustreware, 18th century furniture, such as a George Tyler long-case clock, and Worcester porcelain, including a complete set of American Birds by Dorothy Doughty. The extensive lace collection, which dates from the 16th to the 20th centuries, includes early Italian, Belgian, and Austrian examples, as well as the bed curtains of Empress Marie-Louise, one of the largest known pieces of French point d’Alençon lace. Other notable objects include the 14th century Spanish Processional Cross, an 18th century English boy’s waistcoat, and the late 15th century German stained glass panel of the Mocking of Christ.
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Modern and Contemporary
The collection from 1900 to the present encompasses a wide range of objects – from a Frank Lloyd Wright chair and Tiffany silver to Michele DeLucchi’s First Chair and Arman’s Demie Tasse service for Limoges. Among the regional objects are Nonconnah Pottery, quilts by Hattie Childress, and Shearwater Pottery.
DETAILS
Nonconnah Pottery (American, Shelby County, Tennessee)
Teapot, 1904-1910
Earthenware
5 1/4" x 9 1/2" x 6 3/4" (13.3 cm x 23.2 cm x 17.1 cm)
Gift of the Decorative Arts Trust 2003.4.2a-b