Number 9, 2013

The Way of the Cross, also known as the Stations of the Cross, is a popular form of devotion involving a series of fourteen artistic representations of events from the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the early 1950s Thorsten Sigstedt (1884-1963), a woodcarver with a home and studio on Rose Lane in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, carved the Stations of the Cross for St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Today Sigstedt's relief sculptures remain a vital part of the devotional life of St. Timothy's. This exhibition of the Stations of the Cross brings together two of the original wood-carved sculptures from St. Timothy's with twelve of Sigstedt's cast stone versions.

Number 8, 2013

In the essay below, Dr. Wendy Closterman, Associate Professor of History and Greek at Bryn Athyn College, explores the religious significance of Glencairn's Minerva-Victoria. According to Dr. Closterman, “Glencairn’s Minerva-Victoria illustrates ways that...a proliferation of divine images functioned in the Roman world. Depending on the viewer and the context, these images might evoke a variety of ideas in the minds of the people who saw them: the nature of a deity’s power, traditional tales, enduring life concepts, and connections between divine forces and human endeavors.”

Number 7, 2013

These twelfth-century marble fragments (09.SP.25a,b), on exhibit in Glencairn's Medieval Gallery, illustrate an episode from the biblical story of the Temptation of Christ. They were researched in the summer of 2012 by Dr. Julia Perratore, Glencairn’s Curatorial Fellow from the University of Pennsylvania. According to Dr. Perratore, “The devil holds a stone in his left hand, while his serpent-like tail appears to drape over his arm. In this manner, he urges the fasting Jesus to turn a stone into bread—the first of the temptations. Opposite, Jesus merely raises his right hand, a gesture typically intended to represent speech in medieval art, to indicate his reply: ‘It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

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)

Number 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)

Number 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.

Number 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.

Number 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!

Number 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.