Souvenir Emu Egg
date: label: date made
content: 1876
notes: label: Description
content: Horizontally mounted, brown-speckled emu egg held aloft by a bearded aboriginal or Maori man in loincloth on one knee, flanked by an emu and a kangaroo, all three on an oval base shaped as rocky ground on four, three-lobed, split-scroll feet. Egg is secured with twisted wire tied between a small cylindrical cup covered by a cast spreadwing bird on top, two ring handles at sides, fern leaves on bottom, and a clipped-corner rectangular plaque on front inscribed in script "Souvenir / of the / Centennial Exhibition / 1776 Philadelphia 1876 / from / Australia". Underside of bottom mount on egg is struck "H.STEINER" in raised sans serif letters next to a lion passant facing left in shield, and a kangaroo standing in a vertical rectangle. Areas of black on man's legs, possibly losses in silverplate.
label: Description
content: Maker is Henry Steiner (1835-1914) of Adelaide, Australia. A German-born and -trained silversmith, Steiner showcased his works at numerous international and intercolonial exhibitions of the late 1800s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place designed; place made
content: Australia: South Australia, Adelaide
label: place sold; place collected
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Eleanor H. Smith
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.317983.01
label: catalog number
content: 317983.01
label: accession number
content: 317983
objectType: label: Object Name
content: egg, emu, mounted
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: egg, emu (egg material)
label: Physical Description
content: silver (mounts; plaque material)
label: Physical Description
content: silver plate (base; figures material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 5/8 in x 7 1/2 in x 6 in; 29.5275 cm x 19.05 cm x 15.24 cm