Nature by Design: Selections From the permanent collection
Discover how nature and design have intersected in the past and continue to converge in our world. Nature by Design transforms the second floor of Carnegie Mansion into a treasure trove of textiles, jewelry, furniture, cutlery, and more drawn from Cooper Hewitt’s collection of over 210,000 design objects. Learn how designers across the centuries have observed nature, investigated its materials, and imitated and abstracted its patterns and shapes.
Plastics
From molded tortoiseshell and vulcanized rubber to bioplastic pellets and semi-synthetic yarn, the beauty of natural plastics and design’s achievements with these pliable materials are explored in this fascinating range of objects from Cooper Hewitt’s collection.
Clock; silver-gilt, shaped tortoiseshell, cut diamonds and rubies, lapis (base); leather with silk and velvet lining (case); 1969-151-2-a,b
Winged Vessel II Vessel, 2004; Co-Designer: Joi Rae Felt ; wool felt, bast fibers, leaf, urushi lacquer; H x W x D: 19.1 x 13.3 x 11.4 cm (7 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 4 1/2 in.); Gift of Anonymous Donor; 2009-41-1
Winged Vessel II exemplifies the guiding role materials can play in the creation of a new design. First, Monteith turned a variety of bowl forms in his woodworking shop, which Johnson used as molds for her felt. The modeling over the wooden molds created a felt strong enough to serve as a lacquer mold, replacing the usual cotton or hemp substrate for the lacquering process. Once formed, the felt vessels are firm but flexible enough that Monteith could distort the forms to give them their organic quality while applying and sanding the 50 to 75 layers of lacquer. The fuzz of the wool fibers acts as a scaffold that gives the lacquer greater strength and integrity. The lacquer, in turn, provides the felt with new textures. The combination of the two techniques creates contrast and strength while producing a visually appealing design.
Birdcage (China), ca. 1901; Made by Liang Qichang (dates unknown); bent buffalo horn (vertical bars), lacquered bamboo (horizontal hoops bracing bars), ivory, molded tortoiseshell (with substraight of silverleaf on vermillion on wood), cedar wood, various metals (brass, possibly paktong, white metal), jade, glazed porce; H x diam.: 86 x 39.4 cm (33 7/8 x 15 1/2 in.); Gift of Mrs. Herman Frasch; 1916-12-1-a/f
Tortoiseshell, like horn, is a thermoplastic which can be shaped using heat, moisture, and pressure. Working the material was a laborious, costly process. Objects made from tortoiseshell were considered luxury goods. The simple cylindrical form of this birdcage is embellished with extravagant materials including form-fitting curved tortoiseshell veneer around the base, intricately carved ivory feet, and lavish accessories.
Vessel, Impose, 2017; Designed by Handmade Industrials, Rutger de Regt and Marlies van Putten; capa™ 6800 bioplastic (polycaprolactone) pellets colored with mineral pigments then heat molded; H x W x D: 27.9 × 26.7 × 12.1 cm (11 in. × 10 1/2 in. × 4 3/4 in.); Museum purchase from General Acquisitions Endowment Fund and through gift of Culture Object; 2018-43-2
Casket (Possibly Dutch Colonial), 17th century; shaped and engraved tortoiseshell with applied pigment and repoussé silver (mounts); H x W x D: 16 x 22.5 x 9.8 cm (6 5/16 x 8 7/8 x 3 7/8 in.); Gift of Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan; 1968-131-1-a,b
Botanical Lessons
Botanical Lessons explores nature in the Smithsonian collections through thirteen botanical models on loan from the National Museum of American History, and a selection of illustrated books and periodicals from Smithsonian Libraries, all of which served as teaching aids in a nineteenth-century period marked by a growing interest in science and education.
Model, Ficus carica, 1875–1898, wood, papier-mâché, cardboard, plaster, reed pith, metal, string, feathers, gelatin, glass and bone glue beads, cloth, metallic thread, horsehair, hemp, silk threads, paint, and shellac varnish
The Ficus carica, or fig tree, is native to the Mediterranean and Central Asian regions, and it was one of the first plants cultivated by humankind, growing up to 30 feet. A staple in the diet of ancient Greeks and Romans, the fruit is now consumed around the world either raw, dried, or as a jam.
Bananier, Plate 54, Flore Médicale, 1814.
The author of this publication, François-Pierre Chaumeton, was a French physician and pharmacist who worked as a military doctor at the turn of the 19th century. After his retirement, Chaumeton started writing for medical publications, which led to Flore Médicale, a book that presents a wide range of botanical species for pharmaceutical use. The title however goes beyond its initial scope, and includes flowers and fruits like this banana.
Model, Theobroma cacao, 1875–1898, wood, papier-mâché, cardboard, plaster, reed pith, metal, string, feathers, gelatin, glass and bone glue beads, cloth, metallic thread, horsehair, hemp, silk threads, paint, and shellac varnish.
Plate, Odontoglossum Grande, Paxton’s Magazine Of Botany, And Register Of Flowering Plants, Vol. 8, 1841
Sir Joseph Paxton may be more well known today as the designer of the 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition building in London, but his main occupation at that time was as Head Gardener of Chatsworth House, home to the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549. Paxton was also interested in publishing and landscape and greenhouse design. These passions combined in Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, which was the third title he developed, running from 1834 to 1849. The pages selected here focus on the lavish illustrations that accompanied the detailed texts, which shared the newest developments in botany for amateur and professional gardeners alike.
Model, Rosa canina, 1875–1898, wood, papier-mâché, cardboard, plaster, reed pith, metal, string, feathers, gelatin, glass and bone glue beads, cloth, metallic thread, horsehair, hemp, silk threads, paint, and shellac varnish.
Rosa canina, also known as dog rose, is a thorny climbing plant native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia, characterized by pink or white flowers. Traditionally, syrups were made using the rose hips due to their high concentration in vitamin C. The hairs inside the hips, known to cause irritation, have been an ingredient in itching powder.
Cochineal
Since Pre-Hispanic times the cochineal insect has been used as a natural colorant by indigenous peoples from the Americas. This installation explores the enduring legacy of cochineal and its innovative use among contemporary designers from across the Americas through a variety of medium including lacquered furniture, textiles, and works on paper.
After Icebergs
In 1859, the American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church traveled by ship to Newfoundland to observe icebergs. On the 160th anniversary of his expedition, After Icebergs will present a selection of sketches and studies made by Church that document his first-hand impressions of these majestic forms of floating ice.
Interpretations of botanical forms wind their way through the decorative arts of the late 18th through the early 20th centuries. Botanical Expressions focuses on key figures—Christopher Dresser, Emile Gallé, William Morris, and Louis Comfort Tiffany—whose knowledge of the natural sciences and personal practices of gardening enriched their creative output as designers. A timeline of objects reflects botanicals in form and pattern, highlighting shifting styles across geography and media in textiles, ceramics, glass, wallcoverings, and more. Significant loans from Smithsonian Libraries include illustrated guidebooks that designers used for natural research and drawing instruction.
Bathing Beautiful
A delightful 20th-century wallpaper with a watercolor-like illustration would imaginatively transport a bather under the sea.
Nature by Design is made possible by major support from Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee. Additional support is provided by the Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program Fund.
Paired sets of stepped blocks in harmony and balance echo an ancient process. James Bassler (American, b. 1933), in his work Six by Four II, incorporates an aesthetic of pure color through the interlacing of warps and wefts in a special way. By changing the colors of each block, linked one to the other, thread...
Designers Rutger de Regt and Marlies van Putten, the principals of Handmade Industrials, are both inspired and concerned by today’s production processes that are increasingly driven by computers. They ask, are we reducing or removing the presence of human experience and experimentation in manufacturing? Are we losing touch with our environment—is it becoming increasingly artificial?...
Design scholar Penny Sparke traces the history of plastic since the nineteenth century and through modern design of the twentieth century—and notes how the material became one of the largest challenges facing the world's environment today.
Trained as a cabinetmaker in his native Bohemia, Wenzel Friedrich immigrated to the United States in 1853, settling in San Antonio, Texas, and opening a revival-style furniture business. In 1880, he became more innovative, realizing the potential of the Texan stockyards’ abundant supply of Texas Longhorn cattle horns as a material for use in furniture...
A version of this post was originally published on September 22, 2015. Some combs are used to groom hair, others to embellish and hold it in place. This decorative lady’s hair comb dates from the nineteenth century. By the 1830s, the austere, classically inspired Empire or Regency fashions popular since about 1795 had been supplanted...
William Morris’s The Wood Beyond the World (1894) relates the adventures of Golden Walter, a man who seeks to escape his mundane life and sets out on a sea voyage, eventually gaining control of the kingdom of Stark-Wall and the love of a beautiful maiden. The book was published by the Kelmscott Press, a private...
After American Commodore Matthew C. Perry forcibly opened trade relations with Japan in 1854, a cornucopia of Japanese goods flooded into Western markets. The groundbreaking use of perspective and asymmetry in the prints of Japan influenced artists that included Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, and Vincent Van Gogh. In decorative arts, imported items like fans, kimonos,...
The father of the English Arts & Crafts Movement William Morris once stated, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” This maxim surely included the office, and Morris would most certainly have approved of this six-piece desk set by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a perfect...
