Montgomery Place and Susan Merriam’s Cabinet of Curiosities Class
You never know what you’ll find in the Montgomery Place collection! Professor Susan Merriam’s Cabinet of Curiosities class met at the mansion this week, continuing their study of some of the fascinating objects in the collection. Check out the mechanical cat, dueling pistols, and chicken foot letter opener.
Students have been researching objects that illuminate the historical phenomenon of the curiosity cabinet. These collections of oddities, as small as a box or as large as a room, are precursors to the modern museum. Students gave presentations on their research into items in the collection, discussing such themes as shifting colonial structures in the era of the objects, the romanticism of nature and early American identity, and Victorian death culture. Some of the objects and their research will be on display in an exhibit at the Stevenson Library in December. #bardcollege #arthistory #montgomeryplace
