Celebrated Trinkets: Household Items on Display

Celebrated Trinkets: Household Collections on Display Michael Wolowiec ARC 337: History of American Architecture Professor J. Massey Sept. 25, 2012

Eighteenth-­‐century American plantations created a landscape of eclectic ornamentation of Classical-­‐Revival imagery mixed with a more-­‐or-­‐less simplistic and practical spatial configuration. The plantation typology is essentially an upper class oriented residence when looked at through modern terminology, and as such, were made with the owner’s business as a backdrop for its overall use. While the exterior creates an imposing figure fixed on a vast plot of land, the interior creates a cultural condition within a historical timeline that places emphasis on an implied social image. The making of household objects can be broken down into their specific components that somewhat creates a production timeline, bringing more awareness to the decisions for exposing these trinkets towards the selected public. Celebrations of these expensive pieces of household furniture has repeatedly demonstrated family ideas of wealth and style, which today is still being upheld through similar items of value. Whether it’s through family pictures or tablecloths, decoration can tell stories about cultural values in interior design, landscape design, as well as architectural references regarding upper class taste. Through luxurious, aristocratic rituals such as tobacco smoking, ceramic art, and drinking socials, sequences of space within typical plantation residences can begin to shape from patterns of movement and gathering, adding further to a daily life understanding through programmatic relationships.

The culture of plantation interiors revolved around formalities within a higher class of entertainment rituals, with cigar rooms acting as the masculine outlet to proper business-­‐ related proceedings, juxtaposed to tea break rooms. Historically speaking, “lower prices made the products of American plantations affordable to…European consumers,” thus making tobacco a widespread commodity (Menard 309). With this in mind, the natural order of colonial

economy made European products desirably costly, along with additional expensive tools for proper smoking enjoyment such as cigar cutters and rolling papers, each with their own sub-­‐ hierarchies of product value. Typically served as compliments to meals as “the after-­‐dinner cigar, accompanied by glasses of port or brandy,” thus associating homemade crops as rewarded products of labor ("History of Cuban Cigars"). Since tobacco had the capability to be grown anywhere, preferences to the final product’s enjoyment varied depending on social class and origin, as “the English developed a preference for the pipe, based on their interactions with North American Indians, while the Spanish preferred the cigar, a closer relative to the smoking encountered on their exploration in the New World” (The Long Tobacco Road 2). Located outside of grand dining halls, smoking rooms, accompanied with cabinets holding expensive alcohol and glassware, provided a hidden comfort submerged in a bustling gathering environment. Speculation aside, the inclusion of secondary social spaces brought forth a new programmatic precedent that resonates with modern vernacular living organizations.

Though pottery was typically associated with indigenous tribes, most often filling the

servant corridors of plantation annexes, the refinement of Native American and African-­‐ American ceramics instilled an almost updated “grassroots” environment within a clean, uptight interior symmetry. Typologically speaking, plantation owners would generally buy imported pottery from Europe or American-­‐ized versions, as “non-­‐European ceramics…could best be explained as historic due to the generally plain form of these ceramics and due to the low density of lithics” (Lees and Lees 6). Cultural nuances of product development (materials, precision, glazing, etc.) resonated with social class hierarchies, as slaves and Native Americans were accustomed to generating bare ceramic forms for personal usage, while landowners

would indulge in slave-­‐made products for daily usage, reserving glazed ware for events and guests. Though “glazed wares were within the financial reach of all except the poorest colonists,” the display of such items created a localized social placement among a wealthy community (Ferguson 14). The placement of ceramic art around the periphery of public gathering spaces implies an accentuated preference towards focusing on the architecture, with artisan pieces delegated towards a secondary importance. The fact that most colonial ceramics served a functional purpose adds to its dual appreciation, as the decoration of everyday items creates a humble setting of everyday chores brightened through artistically expressive utensils.

The staple of upper class indulgence, alcohol is synonymous with an understanding of

landowner extravagance, as the lengths to which they strive to demonstrate personal wealth through its physical display illustrates the epitome of colonial dining culture. Spiritually speaking, “Colonial Americans…believed alcohol could cure the sick, strengthen the weak, enliven the aged, and generally make the world a better place,” thus creating a falsely optimistic significance for drinking (Crews 1). The value bestowed upon alcohol made the collection and display an architectural feature within plantation break rooms, as its spirituality required a necessary investment to impress guests. Through the emerging boom alcohol created in the colonies, plantations were profiting from having on site dispensaries. Techniques for brewing coincided with the quality and strength of the alcohol that created an additional implied value, as “distilled spirits…required more equipment and skill than beer and cider but made better economic sense for producers. Distilled spirits kept longer than cider or beer, and because of their concentration of alcohol, were more potent” (Crews 2). Specifically directed towards aristocratic male gatherings, the finished product was celebrated through tranquil

arrangements in break rooms along with cigars, transitioning serenely from proper formal dinners to relaxed business congregations with an unexpected, yet custom, kick. The celebration of alcohol during formal proceedings still resonates with modern culture, as the display of expensive drinks correlates with a well-­‐traveled, experience drinker; an alternative perspective opposed from colonial notions of wealth.

Because of a timeless obsession with displaying household items of monetary and

sentimental wealth, upscale objects such as cigars, teacups, and ceramic pots and plates can have an iconic nostalgia with eighteenth century plantation events. Even though the collection of expensive luxuries barely touches on the culture of entertainment-­‐based objects, the fact that these specific materials have continued to associate refined, raw material with ornamentation shows its timeless nature, and how its appreciation is still relevant today in terms of adding detail to household spatial typologies. American traditions for displaying wealth impacts the architecture of upper class homes, as these traditions have shaped into contemporary examples of living conditions, as living and dining rooms engrave notions of welcoming guests for leisurely activities from historical rituals.

Works Cited

William B. Lees and Kathryn M. Kimery-­‐Lees, from The Function of Colono-­‐Indian Ceramics: Insights from Limerick Plantation, South Carolina. History Archaeology, Vol. 13, (1979), pp. 1-­‐13.

Elizabeth M. Scott, from Food and Social Relations at Nina Plantation. American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 103, No. 3 (Sep. 2001), pp. 671-­‐691.

Russell R. Menard, from Plantation Empire: How Sugar and Tobacco Planters Built Their Industries and Raised an Empire. Agricultural History, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 309-­‐332.

"History of Cuban Cigars." Cigars Review. Web. http://www.cigars-­‐review.org/history.htm

"The Long Tobacco Road: A History of Smoking from Ritual to Cigarette." Random History. 31 Jan 2009. Web. http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/31_tobacco.html

Crews, Ed. "Rattle-­‐Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Blackstrap, Bombo, Mimbo, Whistle Belly, Syllabub, Sling, Toddy, and Flip Drinking in Colonial America." The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

2007. Web. http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/holiday07/drink.cfm