Object of the Week: "Confirmation Class" by Fanny Eliza Duvall

Confirmation Class, San Juan Capistrano, 1897
Fanny Eliza Duvall (American, 1861-1934)
Oil on canvas; 20 x 30 in.
Gift of Miss Vesta A. Olmstead and Miss Frances Campbell
Bowers Museum #8214

Fannie Duvall studied in New York before moving to Los Angeles in 1888. She was one of the earliest accomplished artists to settle in the Southland. Throughout the 1890s when she produced oil and pastel landscape and still life paintings, she was at her artistic peak. Fannie Duvall was one of the first local artists to adopt the new theories of Impressionism. In 1893, she produced a masterpiece, "Chrysanthemum Garden in Southern California" which was shown at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. (Unfortunately this work burned in the infamous Oakland fire.) "Confirmation Class", depicting a scene at the San Juan Capistrano mission, shows how she found California themes to satisfy Impressionist formats. Girls heading to confirmation via a mission garden is a local translation of the popular French theme of women dressed in white standing in flower gardens. After 1900, Duvall considered Los Angeles her home, although she spent much of her time abroad in study and travel.

All text and image under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Objects of the Week: Cog Stones

Cog Stones, suggested date 6000-3500 B.C.
Milling Stone Horizon Peoples; Southern California
Various stones including basalt; average dimension: 3.75 x 1.5 in.
Gifts of Chas M. Decker, Mary J. Newland and Hirim Whisler
Bowers Museum #478, 536, 11669, 3649, 477

Known as cog stones or cogged stones, these archaeological materials have been found throughout the Southern California area with large deposits found along the Santa Ana River valley. Cog stones are named so because of their indentations that give them the appearance much like that of a cogwheel. Some cog stones are pierced through the center and others have flat surfaces. Four separate styles have been identified based on perforation and groove depth and length. Cog stones are remarkable in that they are found nowhere else in the world and archaeologists and scholars are unsure what their exact function was. The stones’ enigmatic status has led researchers to develop several theories of their purpose, including that the objects served a ritual purpose. Usually found on ocean bluffs or other coastal hilly areas, the stones are attributed to the ancient and non-nomadic people of the Milling Stone Horizon culture.

All text and images under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Pieced Patchwork Quilt

Pieced Patchwork Quilt, after 1892
American; Made by Madam Schumann-Heink (1881-1936)
Silk, sateen, ribbon and cotton; 68 x 59.5 in.
Gift of Mrs. Dorothy F. Sorensen
Bowers Museum #39680

This visually outstanding quilt in a Chinese Coins or Roman Stripe pattern was hand pieced together by Madam Schumann-Heink. Eight strips of ribbon and colored silks are separated by strips of black silk, embroidered with feather and double-feather stitches done in yellow and orange to enhance the black borders. In addition the quilt is bordered by folded embellished triangles and is backed by gold silk. Many of the fabrics were worn by Madam Schumann-Heink during the course of her career as a concert artist. Born near Prague, she made her American debut in Chicago in 1898, and appeared one year later at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Considered by critics to be the greatest contralto of her time, with a repertoire of over 150 roles, she made many early phonograph records and one Hollywood movie in 1936, “Here’s to Romance.” She retired to La Jolla in 1913. Some of the printed ribbons display interesting historical details including one commemorating “National Public School Celebration, Columbus Day, October 21st 1492-1892.”

















All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Feast Bowl from Bipi Island

Feast Bowl (brukei), c.1900
Bipi Island, Northwest Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea
Wood, parinarium nut mastic; 25 3/8 in. diameter
Purchased with funds provided by the Jordan Community Trust
Bowers Museum #2007.20.1

This beautiful carved wood feast bowl originates from Bipi Island, one of the forty islands that make up the Admiralty Island group, found approximately 190 miles off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The bowl’s large scale, fine carving, and decorative elements in the shape of symbolically important animals (Frigate birds and lizards or crocodiles joined at the tails), are indications of this feast bowl’s significance. The dark brown color with a velvety sheen is evidence that the bowl has been much handled, used and treasured throughout many generations. A further example of the attention and care the bowl has received is the original repair to a split in the wood made by using natural paste from the parinarium nut. As is the style of traditional Admiralty Island carving, the bowl has a four foot base and bears opposing double-arced designs near the rim. The feast bowl, no doubt a prized possession for its owner(s), would have been used during important ceremonial occasions involving food.

All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.