Number 6, 2013
“I took a sample of this material and showed it to Mr. Pitcairn. He became quite excited and, clapping me on the back, he exclaimed, ‘This is exactly the kind of surface that I want for the mosaic.’ I explained to him that I still had the problem of working out a formula which was workable for casting the glass. He said, ‘Go to it. You have my wholehearted support.’ Within two weeks I had perfected a workable formula…” (Ariel Gunther, Opportunity, Challenge and Privilege, 1973, pp. 101-102)
Read MoreNumber 5, 2013
Glencairn’s 12th-century capital illustrating the biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 19:19-25) was researched last summer by Dr. Julia Perratore, Glencairn’s Curatorial Fellow from the University of Pennsylvania. According to Dr. Perratore, “The capital’s exhortation to give charity and solace to the poor and suffering, while resisting the temptations of wealth, would have resonated in the minds of viewers, who took away with them a clear mental image inspired by the carving.” (09.SP.94, in Glencairn's Medieval Gallery)
Read MoreNumber 4, 2013
On April 15, 2013, a plaster bust of Emanuel Swedenborg was unveiled at the Swedenborg Library in Bryn Athyn. This larger-than-life plaster sculpture, made in Sweden by Adolf Jonsson, has a long and remarkable history. After the bust was used as the model for a bronze version in the 1920s, it was carried up to the attic of the Swedenborg Memorial Church in Stockholm, where it sat in a state of disrepair for many years. In 2010 it was painstakingly restored by Stockholm sculptor Magnus Persson and shipped to a foundry in Estonia, where it was used as the model for a second bronze version. The plaster was then repaired again, painted to resemble bronze, and gifted to the Swedenborg Library by the New Church Society in Stockholm. In this photo Dr. Kristin King, President of Bryn Athyn College, and Carroll Odhner, Director of the Swedenborg Library, pull back the cover to reveal the restored plaster bust of Emanuel Swedenborg in its new home.
Read MoreNumber 3, 2013
Was this intriguing ivory box (04.CR.49) with scenes evoking Palm Sunday on one side, and the Judgment of Solomon on the other, owned by a medieval king? Last November an international group of medievalists forming the Working Group in Medieval Sculpture were given the opportunity to examine one of Glencairn’s most important objects. Dr. Julia Perratore, art historian at the University of Pennsylvania and former Curatorial Fellow at Glencairn Museum, accompanied the group; her thoughts on “one of the most tantalizing works of art encountered at Glencairn” follow below.
Read MoreNumber 2, 2013
There are still a few weeks of winter left, so feel free to stop by Glencairn and enjoy this charming Swedish Tomtelandskap before it disappears. The scene was made in 1923 and presented as a gift to the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn family by Ellen Holmstedt Ahlberg. The Tomtelandskap will remain on exhibit in the entryway (near the gift shop) through March 19th. March 20th is the first day of spring!
Read MoreNumber 1, 2013
Ken Leap is the stained glass artist-in-residence at Glencairn Museum, an ambassador artist for the WheatonArts & Cultural Center in Millville, New Jersey, and has recently been elected President of the American Glass Guild. Ken is primarily recognized for his achievements in the field of architectural stained glass, working in a tradition that dates to the cathedrals of medieval Europe. His painterly work in stained glass has earned him numerous awards, including a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Articles about his work have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, Architecture of New Jersey, Professional Stained Glass Magazine and Stained Glass Quarterly.
Read MoreNumber 12, 2012
Egypt figures prominently in one of the biblical accounts of the Nativity. The Gospel of Matthew (2:13-15) describes how an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, warning him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape the jealous Herod, who wanted to kill the child. The Coptic Orthodox Church, which is centered in Egypt, has always given this part of the Christmas story special attention. The Flight into Egypt inspired several Coptic legends, and a number of churches and shrines throughout Egypt mark places where the Holy Family stayed. This terracotta figurine of the Flight into Egypt was made in a ceramic workshop in Cairo, along with a 12-piece Nativity set. The clothing styles are typical of rural Upper Egypt. The complete set, commissioned in 2010 by St. Mark’s Coptic Museum in Toronto, Canada, can be seen in Glencairn’s exhibition, Follow the Star: World Nativities. Settings for all the Nativities have been created by Bryn Athyn artisan Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn.
Read MoreNumber 11, 2012
Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn pose for their 1954 Christmas card picture beside the “Seven Days of Creation” fireplace in Glencairn’s Upper Hall. During Christmas time each year a large oil painting of the shepherds visiting the baby Jesus was hung above the fireplace. The painting was adapted from an illustration in The Christ Child, a 1931 children’s book by Maud and Miska Petersham, who gave permission for this large-scale adaptation of their work. The Christ Child was a special favorite of the Pitcairns, and in 1949 they gave over 100 copies of the book as gifts to friends and family. This and other Christmas traditions at Glencairn are brought to life in “Christmas in the Castle,” an all-new holiday tour. Participants in the tour explore outstanding examples of Nativity art through the ages in Glencairn’s collections. They also discover the answer to the question, “How do you celebrate Christmas in a 20th century castle?”
Read MoreNumber 10, 2012
A historian of medieval art at The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, described his reaction to the large lancet windows in Glencairn’s Great Hall in this way: “Upon entering the great hall, one is awed by the richness and proximity of the stained glass windows. Without scaffolding it is impossible [at Chartres] to experience the same view of the windows which were the prototypes of these. Six lancets . . . are unique in their adherence to the colors, tones and hues of thirteenth century French glass—particularly in the ruby striated reds and sapphire blues. One is overwhelmed by the scale, grandeur and magnificence of these testaments to Mr. Pitcairn’s desire for perfection in duplicating the manufacturing technique of medieval pot metal glass” (Thomas Pelham Miller, quoted in Glencairn: The Story of a Home, p. 135).
Read MoreNumber 9, 2012
The Unsleeping Eye shows Mary and an angel watching over the sleeping Christ. His eyes are open, signaling His watchfulness over the world even in sleep. In the corners of the icon’s raised frame appear the symbols of the four authors of the Gospels. These symbols were common in medieval art, with each author assigned his own winged emblem: Matthew, a man, Mark, a lion, Luke, an ox, and John, an eagle. The icon of the Unsleeping Eye has a long history in Russia. Iconographer: Susan Kelly vonMedicus. Now on exhibition at Glencairn Museum.
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