Parlor Stove
Manufacturer
Richardson & Boynton Co.
(American, active 1837 - 1939)
Date1877
MediumCast iron, earthenware
DimensionsOverall: 31 x 23 x 23 in., (78.7 x 58.4 x 58.4 cm,)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Palmer
Object number76.41
DescriptionStove has tiled panels of morning glories on top, front, and sidesOn View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextIn an 1882 article entitled "The Art Possibilities of Stoves," a writer for the Art Amateur bemoaned the "hopelessly vulgarized stoves" produced in America. The author suggested that decorative tiles, commonly incorporated into English and American furniture of the period, replace the architecturally based surface ornament exploited by stove manufacturers. Richardson, Boynton & Company is an example of a manufacturer who implemented this advice.
The naturalistic morning glories on the tiles of the MWPAI stove provide visual relief to the rigid industrial form. The black ground color of the tiles blends with the cast iron, providing sharp contrast to the green hues of the flowers that climb up the sides of the stove.
ATD
(August 2002)
