slides: Newport Antiques Show: Objects that Shaped Rhode Island History

Sunday, July 20, 2014

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Team

King’s Cup Trophy by Tiffany & Co., 1908

The Rhode Island Historical Society and the Newport Historical Society—sister organizations with a common origin in 1822— have partnered to create an exhibit that encompasses Little Rhody’s history with fifty distinct objects from their extensive collections. It will be presented at the 2014 Newport Antiques Show in the loan exhibit Fifty Objects That Shaped Rhode Island History July 25, 2014-July 27, 2104 at St. George’s School in Middletown. The exhibit includes diverse themes such as geography and tolerance.

"Rhode Island, founded by an immigrant in 1636, has a rich, complicated history,” said Kirsten Hammerstrom, Director of Collections at the Rhode Island Historical Society. “Its coastline encouraged a robust maritime trade and the entrepreneurial spirit of its people made it a vanguard in the industrial revolution.”

“Rhode Island has served as a haven for the religiously persecuted and an incubator for innovators and rabble-rousers, who were sometimes one and the same. Not immune to the uglier parts of history, Rhode Island has seen its share of inequalities and injustices, as its inhabitants ride the tide of shifting demographics and changing economies,” Hammerstrom said.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Since 2007, the Newport Antiques Show remains the only high-end antiques event with two beneficiaries, the Newport Historical Society and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County, raising over $1.6 million through sponsorships and ticket sales.

“The partnership behind this year’s loan exhibit is a natural extension of the many collaborations that make the Show possible,” the Newport Historical Society’s Executive Director Ruth Taylor said.

During the Newport Antiques Show’s three day run, over forty-two of the country’s top dealers will present a diverse selection of Americana antiques ranging from furniture, paintings, jewelry and many other decorative arts at St. George’s School in Middletown, RI. Admission to the weekend Show, which costs $15 per person or $20 for a three day pass, allows entrance to Fifty Objects and the following talks.

· Big History, Little State: 350 Years in 50 Objects presented by Kirsten Hammerstrom on Friday, July 25th at 11am.

· Fruits of Our Labor: Industry, Immigration and Rhode Island Road to Riches by C. Morgan Grefe on Friday July 26th at 1pm.

· Vintage Cars and Automobile Racing in Newport on July 26th at 11am by Nicholas Schorsch, CEO of the Show’s Presenting Sponsor American Realty Capital.

“For a small state, Rhode Island has a powerful reach that can be seen in the material evidence of its past,” Hammerstrom said.

To see a preview of Fifty Objects That Shaped Rhode Island History, see the slides below.

Related Slideshow: Newport Antiques Show: Objects that Shaped Rhode Island History

View Larger +

Prev Next

King’s Cup Trophy by Tiffany & Co., 1908

Newport Historical Society, 83.3.1AB

In 1907, ‘Captain Nat’ (Nathanael Greene) Herreshoff designed the sloop Avenger for Robert Emmons 2nd of the New York Yacht Club; the Avenger was one of Herreshoff’s most successful boats, winning the Astor, Queen’s and King’s Cup races for her owner.

View Larger +

Prev Next

Seal, 1696, From the City of Newport “Seal of Newport Rhoade Island Covncel”

Newport Historical Society, L65.3.1

Before Newport was a thriving port and vacation destination, the city was a refuge for religious dissidents from Massachusetts Bay. The sheep depicted on this early seal attributed to Arnold Collins, reflects the importance of agriculture to the early settlers.

View Larger +

Prev Next

Weaver’s Book, 1815, Arkwright Company Records

Rhode Island Historical Society, MSS 264

The first mills in Rhode Island produced thread, not cloth. This was woven by hand, often on looms in homes or on farms. The swatches—typical of the patterns found in clothing and household linens throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries—are accompanied by instructions for weavers that represent the moment just before the industrialization of cloth production in New England.