MIA: Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture (Bot)
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miadecorativearts.bsky.social
MIA: Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture (Bot)
@miadecorativearts.bsky.social
700 followers 3 following 2.3K posts
Sharing artworks from the Minneapolis Art Institute Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture department. Not associated with the Minneapolis Art Institute.
Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
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Circular mirror https://collections.artsmia.org/art/40223/
metal with round disc on the end of the handle; mirror
November 26, 2025 at 6:24 PM
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Covered jar, one of a pair https://collections.artsmia.org/art/9687/
Figures of scenes and interiors painted in blue.
November 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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Death Mask of Herschel V. Jones https://collections.artsmia.org/art/20192/
Death Mask of Herschel V. Jones
November 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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Lobed Circular Dish https://collections.artsmia.org/art/23892/
Wedgwood pearlware partial dessert service, porcelain, printed and colored in green with designs of shells and seaweed, includes thirty-three pieces
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 PM
miadecorativearts.bsky.social
Plate, one of twelve https://collections.artsmia.org/art/27826/
gadrooned shaped rims, Coat of Arms of Sir Richard King, Admiral of the White
November 26, 2025 at 9:33 AM
miadecorativearts.bsky.social
Side chair, one of four https://collections.artsmia.org/art/4650/
Side chair, one of four
November 25, 2025 at 5:49 PM
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"Puzzle Box" still bank https://collections.artsmia.org/art/81875/
bank in form of a circle with one flattened side; in two parts that fit securely together at three points; slit in top
November 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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Two-handled cup with cover https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2136/
The royal arms of Queen Anne adorn this cup, along with the crest of John Smith, who served as her Speaker of the House from 1705 to 1708. The nearly 100 ounces of silver used to make this piece are believed to have been awarded to Smith for fulfilling his governmental duties. After his death in 1723, Smith's heir had the silver remade into the latest style, but with earlier emblems of Smith and Queen Anne, a tradition of honoring one's ancestry that continued into the 19th century.
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
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"Jumbo on Wheels, Small" mechanical bank https://collections.artsmia.org/art/81141/
small brown elephant on wheels; "Jumbo" written on both sides of his back
November 25, 2025 at 11:05 AM
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Golden Bird https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1274/
Constantin Brancusi began making abstract sculptures at about the same time Wassily Kandinsky, his contemporary was exploring abstraction in painting. Kandinsky eventually chose to obscure the natural objects that provided the starting point for his abstractions, whereas Brancusi took natural forms to an extreme of simplification but never completely excluded them from his work. Golden Bird belongs to a series of twenty-eight marbles and bronzes exploring the theme of birds and their flight, which Brancusi executed between 1910 and the early 1950s. His inspiration for these sculptures was a Romanian folktale about a dazzling golden bird called the Maiastra, whose magical song restored sight to the blind and youth to the aged. The shiny polished bronze of Golden Bird recalls the Maiastra's brilliant plumage, and the vertical thrust of the neck suggests open-throated song.
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
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"Blickensderfer 6" typewriter https://collections.artsmia.org/art/40983/
The Blickensderfer model 6 was the the portable typewriter 2.0--an improvement over the Model 5 that had debuted at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. The Model 6 was made of aluminum, rendering it lightweight, and like its predecessor, contained a fraction of the parts that made up its desktop contemporaries. Its rotating type wheel allowed for a speedy change in typefaces. Dubbed the "Five-Pound Private Secretary," the Model 6 was portable and durable; the company touted it in advertisements as being, "in every way, a high class machine." Like our own laptop computers and tablets today, it helped revolutionize work and communication while on the go.
November 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
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Plate from the Hotel Astor, New York City https://collections.artsmia.org/art/66146/
Luncheon or salad plate? white plate with transfer design of flowers and vines around edge; shield with flower at top center, with a ribbon reading, "HOTEL ASTOR," below The heavier weight, customized crest, floral rim, and undecorated center of this plate are typical of restaurant services made in upstate New York. Hotel Astor stood between 44th and 45th Streets on Broadway in New York City, advertised as "Ten Stories of the Latest Luxury." A 1905 illustration in the New York Times celebrated the hotel's advanced kitchens, well-appointed dining rooms, and wine Vaults. At least one later version of this sunflower motif was designed for the hotel before it was demolished in 1967.
November 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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Bowl https://collections.artsmia.org/art/17694/
Bowl
November 24, 2025 at 2:43 PM
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Dinner plate https://collections.artsmia.org/art/10258/
Florentine pattern; white ground with printed phoenix armorial design in rust within rust and gilt borders of winged chimeras, urns and profiles in ovals
November 24, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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"Lap-Over-Edge" Flatware https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2082/
Tiffany dinner knife, from a set of flat silver, hammered sterling silver with gold, copper and bronze ornaments; blade cast by Joseph Rodgers and Sons, London; flora and fauna motif, each piece being individual and distinct This opulently naturalistic flatware incorporates Japanese motifs such as plants, flowers, insects, and animals. Edward C. Moore, Tiffany's head designer from 1869-1891, had admired Japanese art and design at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, and began working with his designer Grosjean to incorporate Japanese motifs into Tiffany's projects. Dozens of different animal and plant forms were applied in gold, copper, and bronze decoration over sterling silver. The distinctive texture and decoration continue on the reverse of each piece, giving the set its "Lap-over-edge" name.
November 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
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Saucer, from a tea service https://collections.artsmia.org/art/15651/
part of a tea service 31.9.6-29; Holiday Traditions, Charleston Drawing Room
November 23, 2025 at 3:36 PM
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Game table https://collections.artsmia.org/art/106841/
square table with leaves that fold upward creating X shape; small triangular-shaped compartment on each side of table; legs curve inward toward base of compartments/ shelves, and curve outward toward feet; four supports pull out to support leaves; green leather playing surface; small brass cup at each corner when unfolded Henry van de Velde was a leading avant garde designer in the Art Nouveau movement in France, and its German counterpart, Jungendstil. His sinuously curving interiors and furniture commissioned in 1895 for Siegfried Bing's Paris shop L'Art Nouveau were a sensation. They demonstrated the harmony of gesamtkunstwerk-a total work of art-in which architecture, furnishings, and fittings were carefully conceived and orchestrated as a whole. This games table, a rare example of the type, exhibits the strong curvilinear elements so important in botanically inspired Art Nouveau designs. Van de Velde's characteristically strong and confident lines animate the form, while providing a sturdy and compact table for gaming. Other beautiful and practical solutions are the small shelves to contain counters or drinks, and the table top, whose four triangular sections fold out to a larger, leather-covered rectangular surface when in use. This delightful object further enriches the MIA's furniture holdings in its prominent collection of Modernist design, by fin-de-siècle architect-designers such as Joseph Olbrich, Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann, Peter Behrens, Louis Majorelle, Eugène Gaillard, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Van de Velde spent the years from 1899-1917 in Germany, where he directed the Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar from its inception in 1908 until the outbreak of the First World War (he turned the school over to Walter Gropius, who transformed it into the Bauhaus in 1919). JKO 11/09
November 23, 2025 at 2:38 PM
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Spice Box https://collections.artsmia.org/art/13201/
tower form with overall filigree decoration and filigree on top flag; 4 thin flags at corners
November 23, 2025 at 12:20 PM
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"Saving Bank" still bank https://collections.artsmia.org/art/82217/
square silver bank safe with numeric combination knob at left center on door; "saving bank" at top surrounded by raised vine design; scrollwork at sides; coin slot at top back panel; 12 large holes drilled in base to see contents
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 AM
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Paperweight https://collections.artsmia.org/art/18212/
latticino background; red poinsettia and white poinsettia surrounded by green leaves and red rosebud and purple flower and fruit
November 22, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Tray for Apollo https://collections.artsmia.org/art/108820/
shallow bowl form with pair of large handles; central brass area attached with brass-headed nails; brass area is blackened at center with irregular inherent drip patterns Moore's mother, a fan of early modern wood turner Bob Stocksdale, taught him wood turning in the 1950s. Moore's subsequent degree in sculpture prepared him to experiment with metal in his wood objects; he is now one of the few wood artists to explore this combination of materials. His metal elements, spun on a lathe and patinated, are integral to his designs. Moore's Tray for Apollo reinterprets the ancient Greek kylix form on a larger scale and in different materials. It could be a container for an offering, or more likely, meant as a drinking cup suitable for one of ancient Greece's most prominent gods.
November 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
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Centerpiece bowl https://collections.artsmia.org/art/40357/
Triangular shaped bowl on pedestal Many of America's strongest proponents of avant-garde design in the early twentieth century were European-born immigrants, including Elsa Tennhardt. Her severe geometric forms, like this centerpiece bowl and candlesticks, echo tenets of Cubism and Russian Constructivism - perhaps an influence of her early training as a painter in Germany. Although recognized today as a visionary, Tennhardt's name was virtually unknown at the time. Silver design in America was less receptive than other areas of the decorative arts to European modernist influences. To many, silver was still something passed down from one generation to the next. Consequently, few American silversmiths accepted the challenge of European avant-garde design, and even fewer created works more audacious than Tennhardt's centerpiece bowl and candlesticks.
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
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"Casino Ware" covered dish https://collections.artsmia.org/art/40231/
Marquis style
November 22, 2025 at 8:22 AM
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Red wine glass, from a five piece stemware setting https://collections.artsmia.org/art/26441/
Red wine glass, from a five piece stemware setting
November 21, 2025 at 7:21 PM
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Chestnut Flask https://collections.artsmia.org/art/24339/
Chestnut flask, half pint, 10 diamond, deep reddish amber; attributed to Zanesville; bottle and dishes from Ohio Manufacturers, 159 items in all, from the Walter Douglas Collection in Centerville, Ohio
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM