In 1715 Hermon Moll, an eminent American cartographer, produced a map showing California separated from the mainland by a body of water he tentatively labeled "Gulf of California or Red Sea." Moll was not alone: the misconception that California was an island persisted for over a hundred years.
This map is part of a new exhibit, "Becoming a Nation," opening at the Portland Museum of Art. The exhibit displays painting, sculpture, ceramics, and furniture from the golden age of American decorative and fine arts, 1750-1825.
The objects, all drawn from the Collection of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., are meant to emphasize America's origin in the age of Enlightenment and to "demonstrate the self-confidence and optimism of early Americans."
The exhibit, which opened two days after the Presidential election, is a timely meditation on America. Eric Worthing '05 found "the political implications overwhelming at the moment."
Some of the more interesting objects tell of America's fight for independence, such as a porcelain figurine of Benjamin Franklin with Louis XVI of France singing a treaty that recognized American independence. There is also Paul Revere's engraving The Bloody Massacre, which depicts the events of March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired on a crowd of unarmed Bostonians. The label for a snuff box decorated with the slogan, "American Independence Forever" bemusedly reads "produced in England."
Some objects tell a bleaker story. A silver medal from 1793, which likely commemorates a peace treaty between the U.S. and an Indian nation, shows George Washington and an Indian chief exchanging a peace pipe; however, as the placard points out, "Washington retains his sword while the Indian chief discards his tomahawk."
Admiring an ornate card table, one woman turned to her friend, "Janice, I think everyone had a card table."
Janice replies, "Well, what else could they do?"
The woman paused thoughtfully, "we should play cards."
The Portland Museum of Art is free to the public Friday evenings from 5:00-9:00 p.m. "Becoming a Nation" runs through January 2.