Bride's Box
date: label: date made
content: 18th century
notes: label: Description
content: This example of an 18th century <i>spanschleteln </i>, (roughly translated from the German as “shaved wood box,)” was given to the National Museum of American History in 1965 by Eleanor and Mabel Van Alstyne, collectors of American folk art. At the time of the donation the box was said to be a “bride’s box” made in Pennsylvania. Bride’s boxes were popular wedding gifts in Germany and Austria during the 1700s. Made of thin strips of planed wood and featuring brightly painted festive iconography such as flowers, pastoral scenes and depictions of brides and grooms, the boxes were intended to be used by the newlywed to store mementos from their nuptial.
label: Description
content: Although home to a large population of German immigrants, recent scholarship questions if bride’s boxes were produced in Pennsylvania during the 18th century, making it possible that this example was imported from Europe. Such uncertainty is common in the field of folk art, a genre loosely interpreted as utilitarian objects created by local artisans and craftspeople. At the time of their use, such works commonly fell beneath the attention of scholars, critics and connoisseurs, leaving their histories undocumented and unremembered. It was not until the advent of industrialization and mass-production in the mid-19th century that folk art of became understood as a fundamental aspect of American heritage and culture.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania
topic: label: Subject
content: Marriage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Folk Art
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Eleanor and Mabel Van Alstyne American Folk Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CL.65.1158
label: accession number
content: 256396
label: catalog number
content: 65.1158
objectType: label: Object Name
content: box
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: yellow (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: wood, pine (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: orange (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 19 1/4 in x 11 1/4 in; 48.895 cm x 28.575 cm