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Object Timeline

2006

2014

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Bell Tower Model

This is a Bell Tower Model. It is dated ca. 1880 and we acquired it in 2014. Its medium is carved and turned pearwood. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This masterwork is a virtuosity of joinery. Its ogival turrets with turned finials are a sign of the mastery of roof-making. In the mid- to late-19th century, masters of compagnonnage who combined their talents on a masterwork sometimes paraded the piece through the city in which it had been made or was to be exhibited. This staircase may be one such collaboration.

This object was donated by Eugene V. Thaw and Clare E. Thaw. It is credited Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw.

Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Vase (USA)
  • mouth-blown favrile glass.
  • Bequest of Joseph L. Morris.
  • 1966-55-8
  • Model, Amant
  • plaster, brass frame.
  • Courtesy of SO – IL.
  • 50.2015.1

Its dimensions are

H: 121 x W: 41.9 x D: 41.9 cm (47 5/8 x 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Bell Tower Model; carved and turned pearwood; H: 121 x W: 41.9 x D: 41.9 cm (47 5/8 x 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.); Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw; 2014-11-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Made to Scale: Staircase Masterpieces—The Eugene & Clare Thaw Gift.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18703481/ |title=Bell Tower Model |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>