Letter and Instructions for Oiling Brick to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Florence
correspondent
Henry C. Mercer
(Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1856 - 1930, Doylestown, Pennsylvania)
Date14 February 1902
Place MadeFlorence, Tuscany, Italy, Europe
MediumInk on paper
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.002323
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIsabella Stewart Gardner collaborated with the tile maker and owner of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, Henry Chapman Mercer, on the Museum's custom floors. Ceramicists and trained laborers in Doylestown, Pennsylvania produced Mercer’s unique designs by molding tiles from handmade casts and applying slips and glazes for firing. Isabella’s vision for the floors included shine. In this letter, Mercer wrote detailed instructions on how to maintain the tiles after observing the oiling practices at the Museo Nazionale—modern day Museo Nazionale del Bargello—in Florence, Italy.
Id728322
Last Updated8/9/24
EmbARK ObjectID29028
Source ID12619
