History
Monthly Archive: December Hist
CANADA 150 - Nova Scotia – Amos Pewter
Mahone Bay is a beautiful town just south of Halifax, on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. I stopped there on a holiday with my family this summer, and was charmed by the sheltered harbour, the tall trees, and the lovely shops. It was a perfect place to stretch our legs and eat some ice cream. When we were there, I noticed that we drove by Amos Pewter, and smiled at the memory of a Christmas ornament made of pewter that I once received as a gift from a dear friend.
CANADA 150 - Nova Scotia – Black rag doll
The Canadian Decorative Arts section of the Royal Ontario Museum has a reasonable doll collection, featuring both folk and commercially made dolls. Primarily the dolls represent the backgrounds of Anglophone and Francophone early Canadian settlers, like this handmade dancing doll from Quebec, and this knitted doll from Ontario. Both dolls date from the late 1800s/early 1900s. I should clarify that when I talk about the Canadian collection, I am discussing the collections devoted to immigrants and settlers. There are several dolls in the First Nations collection.
CANADA 150 - New Brunswick - Deichmann Pottery
It can be pretty common in rural parts of Canada to find a pottery studio. Lots of Ontario cottagers have favorite potters that they visit in their cottage community. Many of the Gulf Islands in BC have at least one resident potter. Quebec has a hugely successful pottery show that draws in artists from across the province, 1001 Pots, which highlights the rural potter’s lifestyle. It is so common that it’s hard to believe that there were, at one time, pioneers of that way of life.
CANADA 150 - Newfoundland and Labrador - Michael Massie Teapot
My second object from Newfoundland and Labrador is a contemporary piece by silversmith Michael Massie. It is a teapot, mimicking the shape of an ulu knife, with etched designs on the silver body of the pot. The handle is made of bloodwood. Massie is a contemporary Canadian artist who was born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, in 1962. He currently lives on the island portion of the province with his family.
CANADA 150 – Newfoundland and Labrador – Sarah Savarey Hat Box
I’m starting my Canada 150 blogging project in Newfoundland and Labrador. Why? To start, it is the province that lies geographically furthest east, and moving east to west is an easy organizational structure. More deeply, Newfoundland and Labrador was one of the last provinces to join Confederation with Canada in 1949. The vote was contentious and the margin of victory was slim. It’s less likely now, but it once would have been possible to find older residents of the island who considered themselves Newfoundlanders first, Canadians second (if Canadian at all).
CANADA 150 – What We Make and What We’re Made Of
Hi! I'm Heather Read, the Rebanks Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian Decorative Arts. In honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, I’ll be writing a blog series this year highlighting interesting objects from the Canadian Decorative Arts Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. With this series, I’ll be talking about some of the furniture, pottery, and glass that are currently on exhibition at the ROM, but I’ll also give you a peek behind the scenes into the parts of this collection that aren’t currently on display.
'Globes Celestial and Terrestrial': the Science of Star-gazing
The study of celestial bodies is one of the oldest sciences. Meticulous observations of the night sky were made by many early civilizations who used the information for various purposes, including determining the right time for planting, harvesting, ceremonial events and tides.
"Of Angling, and the Art thereof": Fish Tails and Fish Tales
“Of Angling, and the Art thereof I sing,
What kinde of Tooles it doth behoue to haue;
Cooking up History: Historical Recipe Books
The cookbooks of the past provide information about diet and habits, as well as telling us which foods were expensive treats, and which were commonly available. Many of the foods that appear regularly through the centuries are not often eaten today, like pickled eel, fried lamprey, and cow-heel soup. Others are familiar, such as macaroni soup or an 1877 recipe for ‘Indian dal’.
'The Elements of Armories': A Very Short History of Heraldry
The colourful pennants and shields carried by bold knights and courageous squires are known to us today from illustrated books and films telling stories of Robin Hood, or King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. But these bright emblems are more than decoration, and have long historical roots.
