The House of William and Harriet Aiken, 1833-1860

ENTERTAINMENT OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KIND:

THE HOUSE OF

WILLIAM AND HARRIET AIKEN, 1833-1860

Elizabeth W. Garrett

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture

May 2005

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ENTERTAINMENT OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KIND:

THE HOUSE OF

WILLIAM AND HARRIET AIKEN, 1833-1860

Elizabeth W. Garrett

Approved: , j Jf) , X e \ r ^ BrocK Jobe, M/A. ' Professor in cnaige^bf thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

1 Jj

Approved: ^icy,^ J. Ritchie Garrison, Ph.D. Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture

Approved: Conrado MrQempesai^/II, Ph.D. Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Approved: Conrado M. Gempesaw, II, Ph.D. Vice-Provost for Academic and International Programs

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Upon entering the Winterthur Program I knew I would write my thesis on a topic

related to the South Carolina Lowcountry. I am grateful to have found a subject that has

been so intellectually exciting and personally rewarding. To that end I must begin by

thanking Jonathan Poston, Director of Museums and Preservation Initiatives at Historic

Charleston Foundation, for suggesting this topic and then supporting my research.

Without his assistance and that of collections manager Jill Koverman, who

enthusiastically guided me in all my queries, this project would not have been possible.

I am equally as indebted to the numerous Aiken family descendents who graciously

opened their homes to me, and made available for study their important artifacts.

Brock Jobe, my thesis advisor, has been a wonderful mentor and professor during

my two years at Winterthur. I am particularly grateful for his academic support and

direction throughout this thesis process. I must also thank J. Ritchie Garrison for his

thoughtful suggestions and for reminding me to tell the entire story of the Aikens; Wendy

Cooper, Don Fennimore, Alexandra Kirtley and David Beckford for sharing their

expertise in furniture, silver and wood identification; and Cate Cooney, Valerie Perry and

Sharon Bennett for all of their assistance. In addition, I must also thank Susan Buck,

whose paint analysis research proved to be an invaluable resource, as were the

architectural investigations done by Carl Lounsbury, Willie Graham, and Orlando Ridout.

iii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For their continued friendship and support I am grateful to Martha Zierden, who

ignited my love of material culture, and to Alice Patrick who introduced me to the

wonderful world of decorative arts and sent me on my way to Winterthur. The Lois. F.

McNeil fellowship made my experience at Winterthur possible, and my nine other fellow

fellows made my time here that much better.

Most importantly, I must thank my family who has always encouraged me in all

my endeavors, academic or otherwise. My father spent many an evening with me

discussing the nuances of the Aikens’ interiors, and my mother, as always, assisted me

with her excellent editorial skills. Finally, much gratitude goes to my grandparents

whose love and support has been boundless.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES...... vi

ABSTRACT...... ix

ENTERTAINMENT OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KIND: THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM AND HARRIET AIKEN, 1833-1860

Introduction...... 1

Renovation and Redecoration, Creating an Opulent Home...... 9

Furnishing the Entertaining Spaces, 1838-1858 ...... 18

Away From Home, Politics and Travel...... 33

The Grand Tour of 1857-1858 ...... 42

1858 Redecoration ...... 45

The Art Gallery...... 49

Conclusion...... 58

FIGURES...... 60

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 87

APPENDIX A: CATALOGUE OF AIKEN FUNISHINGS...... 94

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES

1 Location of Aiken house on Bird's Eye View of the City of Charleston, South Carolina, 1872 ...... 60

2 View of Aiken house, west and south sides, Historic American Buildings Survey ...... 61

3 Photograph of rear side of house with outbuildings...... 62

4 Aiken coat of arms...... 62

5 First floor plan of John Robinson House, 1820-1833...... 63

6 First floor plan of Aiken house, post-1833...... 64

7 Silver-plated door hardware ...... 64

8a Double door case, west drawing room looking into east drawing room...... 65

8b Typical door case ...... 66

9 Double and single door cases from Asher Benjamin, Practice o f Architecture, 1833, plate 40 ...... 67

10 Entry hall of Aiken house...... 68

11 Photograph of the vestibule at Charlottenhof...... 69

12 Staircase from Rudolph Ackermann, Designs for Architects, Upholsterers, Cabinet-Makers & c. Forming a Series o f Plans and Sections for Apartments, etc. (London: R. Ackermann, 1801), p. 5, plate III ...... 69

13a Piazza, looking west...... 70

13b Piazza, looking northeast into dining room...... 70

14 Floor plan of double drawing rooms...... 71

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 15 Double drawing rooms, looking from east room into west room...... 71

16a Fireplace mantel in east drawing room...... 72

16b Detail of mantels...... 72

17a Duncan Phyfe and Son, Couch, 1841 ...... 73

17b Duncan Phyfe and Son, Armchair, 1841 ...... 73

18 Window treatment from James Arrowsmith, An Analysis o f Drapery: or The Upholsterer’s Assistant, 1819, plate 20 ...... 74

19 Window treatment from Thomas King,The Upholsterer's Accelerator, 1833, plate 8 ...... 75

20 Window treatment from Thomas King,The Upholsterer’s Accelerator, 1833, Plate 11 ...... 75

21 Floor plan of dining room...... 76

22 Photograph of dining room...... 76

23 Floor plan of family parlor/withdrawing room...... 77

24 Photograph of east wall of family parlor/withdrawing room...... 77

25 Copy of plan of first floor sent to William Aiken in Paris, 1858...... 78

26 Copy of plan of art gallery sent to William Aiken in Paris, 1858...... 79

27 1858 wallpaper panels in double drawing rooms with close-up of border ...... 80

28 “Turkish No. 1,” from Owen Jones, The Grammar o f Ornament, Plate XXXVI...... 81

29 “Byzantine No. 2,” from Owen Jones,The Grammar o f Ornament, Plate XXIX...... 81

30 1918 Photograph of west parlor...... 82

31 1918 view from west parlor into east parlor...... 83

vii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 32 Realized floor plan of art gallery...... 84

33 View of art gallery looking toward north wall...... 84

34 Interior view of the Tribune gallery. Johann Zoffany, Tribuna della Uffizi, 1772-1778 ...... 85

35 Art gallery skylight ...... 85

36 The East End of Aspinwall’s Principal Gallery...... 86

37 Edward Hau, Empress Marie’s salon in the Winter Palace...... 86

viii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT

The Aiken house in Charleston, South Carolina is one of the best-preserved

nineteenth-century domestic dwellings in the city. It offers scholars unparalleled

opportunities to interpret multiple facets of antebellum life. This thesis examines the

material remains of William and Harriet Aikens’ entertaining spaces, with the goal of

creating an overall understanding of the Aikens and the role that aesthetics and

constructed spaces played within their lives. My study picks up where other scholars

have left off, by making use of extant material objects that were once used within the

home, along with surviving Aiken correspondence, newspaper articles, and third-party

accounts. Their interior domestic spaces served to assert the Aikens’ social identity and

established their home as a place for both physical comfort and aesthetic enjoyment. Just

as significantly, they also helped to facilitate networks of familial, political and

community relationships.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction

From its vantage point on the corner of Elizabeth and Judith streets in Charleston,

South Carolina, the Aiken-Rhett house overlooks an urban residential landscape now

surrounded by the bustling commercial district of the growing city (Figures 1 and 2).

When it was built, the house was bounded by the quiet marshes of the Cooper River and

was located far from the city center, in what was then the outlying suburb of

Wraggsborough.1 Today its exterior projects much of the same elegance as it did 170

years ago, when it was inhabited by one of Charleston’s most respected political leaders,

William Aiken, and his family. The interior rooms with their crumbling wallpaper and

peeling paint show the effects of the passage of time, yet the still intact architectural

details speak to a rich and exciting history of family occupation, a history that, ironically,

owes its preservation to the stagnation and poverty experienced during the period

following the Civil War.

Occupied for over 130 years by Aiken family members, the house is a virtual time

capsule and retains almost all of its architectural components, much of its nineteenth-

century decoration, and many material artifacts such as furniture, silver, paintings, and

sculpture. In addition to the house, nearly all of the outbuildings survive intact,

including a privy, garden shed, stable, kitchen, washroom and all the slave housing

(Figure 3). Together, these elements create a property that is unique in the city of

1 Jonathan H. Poston,The Buildings of Charleston (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997), 605-606.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Charleston and give it a historical significance that extends well beyond the urban area.2

Though the house itself, due its intact survival, is worthy of material culture study, the

Aiken family, so much a part of local and national history, adds an important dimension

to the undertaking.

This paper will examine the material remains of the Aikens’ entertaining spaces:

the double drawing rooms, dining room, family parlor/withdrawing room, and art gallery.

As public presentation spaces they represent their occupants values and illuminate how

the Aikens sought to portray themselves to their peers within the context of antebellum

Charleston. This study is divided into two phases. The first encompasses the years 1833

- 1857, starting with the commencement of their role as homeowners, consumers, and

conveyors of their own self-image. This period includes, among other things, the initial

renovation and decoration of their home, Aiken’s political career, and the family’s

national and international travels. The second phase covers the years after 1857, but for

the purposes of this study, interpretation will focus on 1857 to 1860. This period

comprises William Aiken’s retirement from politics, the families’ second Grand Tour and

the subsequent redecoration and remodeling of the home, which included, most

significantly, the addition of a dedicated art gallery.

2 The Aiken-Rhett House was acquired by the Charleston Museum in October, 1975 from Frances Dill Rhett, the wife of I’on L. Rhett and the last member of the family to inhabit the house. It was operated as a historic house museum until December 1995 when it was purchased by Historic Charleston Foundation. In July 1996 it was re-opened to the public as a historic house museum and continues to operate in that capacity. This property is presently called The Aiken-Rhett house to reflect the twentieth century years of Rhett occupancy; however, from hereon I will refer to it as the Aiken house.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The goal of this project is to create an overall understanding of the Aikens and the

role that aesthetics and constructed spaces played within their lives by combining

biographical information with material culture scholarship. These interior domestic

spaces not only served to assert the Aikens’ social identity and to establish their home as

a place for both physical comfort and aesthetic enjoyment, but they also helped to

facilitate networks of familial, political and community relationships.3 The Aiken house,

in many ways, also serves as a microcosm of antebellum Charleston. The Aikens’

appreciation of a national aesthetic style tinged with European influences corresponds to

the city’s economic and trade connections, while their literary and artistic pursuits

parallel Charleston’s own intellectual expansion in the 1850s and 1860s.

My study picks up where previous scholars have left off, by making use of extant

material objects that were once used within the home, along with surviving Aiken

correspondence, newspaper articles, and third-party accounts. It will also draw on

previous paint analysis research, architectural investigations and scholarly analyses of the

social, cultural and intellectual milieu of the antebellum city. Absent from the

assemblage of documentary evidence are receipts of any kind recording the Aiken’s

many purchases, which requires that all information about their consumer habits be

gleaned from the objects themselves. A catalogue of all known objects owned by the

William Aiken family complements the text and is found in Appendix A. Together, these

two components will illuminate these objects as not only tangible pieces of the Aikens’

Thad Logan, The Victorian Parlour (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001), 76.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. lives, but as deliberate design choices that illustrate an awareness of aesthetics shaped

through an international perceptionof politics, culture and identity.4

Throughout the eighteenth-century, white elite Charlestonians maintained their

status as the wealthiest inhabitants of the thirteen colonies, a position attained largely

through the enormous profits reaped by the coastal rice industry.5 By the 1830s, the

farming of both rice and cotton had moved westward and Charleston’s economic

supremacy was dissipating. Within a period of some 30 years, it was replaced with civil

war and economic ruin. The years from 1830 to the start of the Civil War in 1861 were

extremely important in the city’s cultural and political development. When William and

Harriet Aiken took possession in 1833, of the large mansion house on 48 Elizabeth St., it

was amid a time of political turmoil spawned by the Nullification Crisis, heightened

racial anxiety, and citywide rebuilding due to widespread fires.

The Nullification Crisis was a reaction to tariffs imposed by the Federal

government on imported luxury goods in an effort to support American-made

commodities. Although it ended in 1832, the tensions it engendered did not soon

subside. Nullification was an issue that deeply divided South Carolinians, and pitted

Unionists, who urged a peaceful accord with the Federal government, against the fiery

and hotheaded Nullifiers, who eventually mandated that the tariffs be null and void

within the state. Throughout his lifetime, William Aiken supported the Unionist cause

4 Kenneth Ames, Death in the Dining Room and Other Tales o f Victorian Culture (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992), 43.

5 Walter Edgar, South Carolina, A History (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998), 152.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and remained avowedly anti-seccessionistup to and during the Civil War.In an 1865

letter published in The New York Times, Aiken sadly noted: “Thank God, I am clear of

the blood that has been shed. If my advice had been taken, war would never have raised

its head in this great and glorious republic.”6 In 1863 he was arrested and imprisoned by

the Confederate Army in Richmond’s infamous Libby Prison for refusing to take the oath

of loyalty to the Confederacy. The New York Times reported that “his cruel confinement

has been kept a secret from the outside world, and it has been kept out of southern papers,

because his villainous persecutors were ashamed to let his imprisonment be known.”7

Aiken was again arrested in 1865 by Union troops who knocked on his door at 11 o’clock

one night and placed him on a steamer bound for Washington. This time his violation

was refusing to sign the oath of loyalty to the Federal government.

Despite the political tensions and a slower rate of population growth, the 1830s

witnessed considerable new construction of both public and private buildings.8 This was

precipitated in large part by the fires of 1835 and 1838, which eradicated many of the

pre- and post-Revolutionary structures.9 During this period, development was moving

6 “Letter from Governor Aiken,” dated April 24, 1865, published in The New York Times, May 14, 1865.

7 The New York Times, 8 August 1863. An 1863 letter to Abraham Lincoln from Francis Capin, in the Library of Congress archives, alerts the President to the imprisonment of Governor Aiken. Capin also attached a newspaper clipping fromThe Morning Chronicle noting Aiken’s arrest. Aside from these two documents no other references to this incident were found.

8 Maurie D. Mclnnis, “The Politics of Taste: Classicism in Charleston, South Carolina, 1815-1840” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1996), 116.

9 Ibid.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. into the boroughs north of Boundary Street and hundreds of dwellings were built in the

neighborhoods of Wraggsborough, Mazyckborough, and Radcliffeborough.10 East Bay

Street along the Battery also became a popular building spot, and some of the city’s most

substantial structures were erected within view of the harbor and Fort Sumter. One of

these dwellings was the Roper house, an 1838 masterpiece of Classical design, which

exhibits a double drawing room floor plan. Public structures built during this time

included The Charleston Hotel in 1838, Hibernian Hall in 1841, and The Charleston

Theater, which opened its doors in 1837.11 While many new public and private buildings

adopted the Classical style, older structures, such as the 1820 Aiken house received

facelifts in order to take their place within the popular classical landscape. At the same

time as the Aikens were updating the physical structure of their house, they were also

filling it with the newest furnishings and decorative objects suited to the late Classical,

style.

Thus far, approximately 150 of these surviving objects can be documented to the

1833-1860 household occupation. As these artifacts have passed over time through the

hands of family descendants, museums and historical societies, their meanings, location,

and even appearance have been altered. What remains the same, however, is their

common association of original ownership and original intent. Objects and their location

within purposefully constructed public arenas are components of a complex and ever-

evolving assemblage of makers, owners and viewers. In the Aikens’ case, their

10 Ibid., 117.

11 Ibid., 178, 183, 188.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. household furnishings were procured from a national and international group of

cabinetmakers, silversmiths, and artists. The viewers and users of these objects included

not only statesmen, politicians, and fashionable Charlestonians, but the numerous

African-American slaves who lived and worked on the Aiken property. As props used to

connote wealth, refinement and education, these household furnishings were laden with

various messages to and meanings for different groups of people.

Emblazoned upon the most visible of the Aiken objects, the family silver, are the

family coat of arms and crest - images chosen by William and Harriet that are

emblematic of the varying aspects of their lives (Figure 4). The coat of arms consists of a

shield with two boar’s heads, a chevron, and a mermaid holding a mirror in one hand and

a comb in the other. The crest, located above the shield, depicts a lodged (lying down)

stag with an arrow piercing its throat. The motto engraved within a banner below the

coat of arms reads “Utere Die.” Coats of arms were granted to certain English male

individuals and could be passed down from one individual to another, but they were not

granted to an entire family or a specific surname.12 Like many Americans who did not

inherit heraldic arms, William Aiken created his own and in doing so incorporated

elements symbolic of his ancestry, livelihood, and leisure activities.

The boar’s head is a possible tribute to the Aiken ancestry (Scotch-Irish) as it

appears more often in Scottish than in English coats of arms and is said by some to

12 • Harry Wright Newman, Heraldic Marylandia (Washington, DC: published by the author, 1968), 5-10.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. represent hospitality.13 The mermaid is a symbol that pertains to water, and is usually

found on the arms of seafarers and merchants.14 Although William Aiken was neither,

the mermaid may be read as an allusion to his career as a rice planter, dependent on the

water for a successful rice crop and for overseas commerce and crop shipment.

Alternatively, she may also refer to the Aikens’ passion for travel, both coastal and

overseas. The crest of the lodged stag with a pierced throat is the component that appears

on the majority of extant silver. The stag has several interpretations including peace and

harmony, one who will not fight unless provoked, and wisdom in war - all highly

prophetic, given William Aiken’s political career in which he strove for peace and unity

between the warring states.15 The final element is the motto “Utere Die,” a phrase that

articulates the very spirit and ideology of the Aikens - “Make use of the day”. “Utere

Die” is evocative of the phrase carpe diem, coined by the Roman poet Horace, meaning

“seize the day” (for the purpose of pleasure). The Aiken motto thus demonstrates an eye

to classical allusion and epicurean pursuits, while at the same time emphasizing hard

13 Henry Gough and James Parker, A Glossary o f Terms Used in Heraldry (Oxford and London: James Parker and Co., 1894; reprint, Gale Research Company, 1966), 68.

14 Guy Cadogan Rothery, Concise Encyclopedia o f Heraldry (London: Bracken Books, 1985), 75-76.

15 The first two interpretations are found on the website fleur-de-lis.com which interprets “meaning behind the symbols.” The third interpretation is found in Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson, The Oxford Guide to Heraldry (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 64.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. work and pragmatism.16 The coat of arms offers a perfect beginning to the study of the

Aiken house, its interiors, and its occupants as it incorporates significant themes of

ancestry, politics, travel and commerce, and an enjoyment of life.

Renovation and Redecoration: Creating a Gracious Home

William Aiken, Jr., was born in Charleston on January 28, 1806, to William

Aiken and Henrietta Wyatt Aiken. His father was a prosperous Scotch-Irish immigrant

who served as the first president of the South Carolina Railroad, but died an untimely

death in 1831 when thrown from a horse in the city streets. In 1825, the younger William

Aiken graduated from South Carolina College in Columbia, S.C., a veritable breeding

ground for local and state politicians, which prepared him for a future of political

leadership.

Around 1828, he made his first sojourn to Europe, an experience that undoubtedly

shaped his outlook on the world, whetted his appetite for further travel and influenced his

sense of style and aesthetics.17 The earliest artistic rendering of Aiken was made during

this tour; a bust-length miniature depicts the young man as a handsome aristocrat with

dark curly hair and wearing a dark green jacket with a white waistcoat, shirt and collar

(Catalogue number 90). Visible are two gold buttons and a gold watch chain extending

16 The author would like to thank Colin Pilney, professor of Latin at the University of Delaware, for his help in translating and interpreting the Aiken family motto. All information pertaining to motto obtained through correspondence with Prof. Pilney.

1 7 The 1820-1850 New York Passenger and Immigration lists record that William Aiken, Jr. landed in New York from Liverpool on July 31,1829.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. from the waistcoat to a small pocket. This depiction of a young William Aiken is a

telling portrayal of the image he hoped to present, that of an international, cultured and

aristocratic gentleman, an image that indeed was his reality.

In 1830, after his return home from Europe, William Aiken’s father gave him

5,000 acres on Jehossee Island, located on the Edisto River about a day’s boat ride from

Charleston, supposedly telling him, “Here are the means, now go to work and develop

them.”18 Following his father’s instructions he turned the undeveloped land into one of

the most productive and most profitable rice plantations in the Lowcountry.19 In 1850

Aiken’s estate was valued at $199,000, and while it was not the highest amount in

Charleston County, it was significantly more than most other listed estates.20 The 1850

census also recorded his ownership of over 850 enslaved African-Americans. Though

18 Nathaniel H. Bishop, Voyage o f the Paper Canoe: a Geographical Journey o f2500 Miles from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico During the Years 1874-75 (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1878), Chapter XII, p. 2.

19 A number of sources speak to the profitability of Jehossee including: William M. Mathew, ed. Agriculture, Geology, and Society on Antebellum South Carolina: The Private Diary o f Edmund Ruffin, 1843, (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1992), 118; Solon Robinson,American Agriculturalist, IX, 187-188, reprinted in DeBow’s Review, IX, 201-203, reprinted in Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, American Negro Slavery (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1928) 252. See also James M. Clifton, “Jehossee Island: The Antebellum South’s Largest Rice Plantation” Agricultural History 59:1 (Jan. 1985), 56- 65.

20 South Carolina 1850 Census Index. Harleston Read, also a planter, had an estate valued at $250,000.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the vast majority of their slaves toiled in the plantation’s rice fields, anywhere from 12 to

19 people lived and worked at the Aikens’ city residence.21

William Aiken, who became one of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent

citizens, not to mention one of the largest slaveholders, was not born into its aristocracy.

By an early age he had achieved a place in it through inherited and earned wealth,

marriage, and political influence. In addition to his role as a planter, he also became a

prominent politician who served as a state legislator and then state senator from 1838-

1844. In 1844 he was elected governor of South Carolina, served only one term (1844-

1846), and then served three terms as a United States Congressman from 1851-1857.22

He was highly regarded by his peers and his character was effectively summarized in his

obituary:

Mr. Aiken ...was always moderate and temperate, in opinion, in language and in act. There was no want of definite purpose, no absence of conviction. But he was reasonable and reasoning, under all circumstances, and under every temptation to go to extremes with old friends and associates. Such he was until the end. Modest and dignified; courageous, while not aggressive; firm but unassuming; too broadly intellectual to be harsh in condemnation, or extravagant in praise.23

21 For discussion of slaves who worked on the Aikens properties see sources listed under footnote 20. Also see Martha Zierden, Aiken-Rhett House: Archaeological Research (Archaeological Contributions 21, The Charleston Museum, October 2003), 16-19.

22James M. Clifton, American National Biography, Vol. 1, ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 193-194.

23 News and Courier, 8 September 1887

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. His money and reputable character were undoubtedly two factors that facilitated

his marriage in 1831 to Harriet Lowndes, the 19-year-old daughter of the prominent

Charlestonian Thomas Lowndes.24 Lowndes was a rice planter who owned Oakland and

Lowndes Grove plantations as well as a house in the city on Broad Street.25 In addition,

he was a politician who served four terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives

and two terms in the United States Congress. William Aiken in many ways followed in

the footsteps of his father-in-law by building a career and a lifestyle that revolved around

the seasonal operations of a plantation and a dedication to civic work. Both men shared

the same political beliefs and during the Nullification Crisis supported the Unionist

cause.

When William Aiken married Harriet Lowndes, he set out to provide for her a

home suitable to their status, and one that could fully accommodate the most important

feature of life among elite Charlestonians, entertaining. Social order was paramount; its

precarious nature demanded that aristocratic Charlestonians engage in ritualized methods

of socialization designed to maintain relationships among elite counterparts. The height

of the social season generally lasted from January to early spring when planters were in

their city residences and the climate was pleasant.26 The multitude of events included St.

24 Harriet Lowndes Aiken was born January 18, 1812 to Thomas and Sarah Bond Ton Lowndes. Charles Hillman, “The Genealogy of the Lowndes Family in South Carolina”, online website.

25 Charleston City Directory, 1829-1840.

OfWalter Edgar, South Carolina, A History, 161.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Cecelia balls, Dancing Assemblies, Philharmonic concerts and the Jockey Ball.27 Race

week was the culmination of the season and quite often a grand ball or party would be

scheduled for every night of the week. Jane Caroline North, who regularly visited her

family in Charleston, commented that, “variety was essential.”28 The diversity of

important social events was not lost on one young woman who attended “a pleasant party

and supper” given by Mrs. Pinckney one afternoon while “on that evening Mrs. Aiken

gave a grand ball.”29

William and Harriet’s new marriage was thus set against the backdrop of an

active social environment and an unsteady political climate, a combination that would

remain present throughout their lives together. Their other constant was their daughter

Henrietta, who was born in 1836, and grew into a young woman that Mary Chestnut

would later call “the greatest heiress in the state.”30 Five years later, a son they called

Thomas Lowndes Aiken was also born, but he did not survive his first year.

27 Steven M. Stowe, “City, Country and the Feminine Voice” in Intellectual Life in Antebellum Charleston, ed. Michael O’Brien and David Moltke-Hansen (Knoxville, The University of Tennessee Press, 1986), 297.

28 An Evening When Alone: Four Journals o f Single Women in the South, ed. 1827-76, Michael O’Brien (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993), 24.

29Best Companions: Letters of Eliza Middleton Fisher and Her Mother, Mary Hering Middleton, From Charleston, Philadelphia, and Newport, 1839-1846, ed. Eliza Cope Harrison (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001), p. 251.

30 Mary Boykin Chestnut, A Diary From Dixie, ed. Ben Ames Williams (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 276. Little is known about Henrietta’s early years and schooling. In 1850, a young French woman named Pauline Boudet lived in the home, where she likely served as Henrietta’s governess. Like other wealthy young ladies of her time, she would also have been expected to sew well and to demonstrate ability in the art of dancing. Judging from the vast library owned by her parents, which contained books

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. After inheriting the property in which they wouldlive in 1833, the Aikens

embarked on an expansion project that lasted until approximately 1838. The home was

originally built in 1820 by the first owner, John Robinson, as a five-bay, three-story

structure in the style of a Charleston double house (Figure 5).31 Orlando Ridout notes

that in building his home “Robinson made clear that he intended to build a large and

imposing house that would reinforce Wraggsborough as a socially up-and-coming part of

the city.”32 Robinson did not inhabit his new mansion house for long and in 1825, citing

financial difficulties, he sold the property to William Aiken, Sr., and two other

investors.33 In 1827, Aiken, Sr., took possession of the estate and until his death in 1831

used the house as a rental property. The architectural elements and paint colors reflect

this function. Analysis indicates that cream-colored, inexpensive oilbound paints were

applied frequently, suggesting that the walls and trim were repainted after each renter’s

occupation.34

written in French and Italian, reading was an important avenue for intellectual development. Her knowledge of foreign cultures would not have been restricted to books as by the age of 12 she was an accomplished world traveler.

31 Orlando Ridout, “Aiken-Rhett House Summary History”, Draft Document, 15, November 24, 2004, 2.

32 Ibid., 3.

33 Willie • • Graham, Carl Lounsbury and Orlando Ridout, “Architectural Investigations of the Aiken-Rhett House”, A3.

34 Susan Louise Buck, “The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study” (Ph.D. diss., The University of Delaware, 2003), 118, 150.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The challenge faced by the Aikens during their ambitious renovation effort was to

convert an outmoded Federal-style rental home into a Greek revival mansion equipped

for grand, large-scale entertaining. The entrance was relocated from Judith to Elizabeth

Street and a new entry hall with a double marble staircase was installed, allowing for the

transformation of the southeast and southwest rooms into a pair of ornate drawing rooms

(Figure 6). The addition of a two-story wing off the northeast corner of the building

permitted a new downstairs dining room with another room directly above.35

Exhibiting signs of frugality and perhaps sentimentality, Aiken not only chose to

rework an already existing house instead of building anew, but he also moved the out-of-

date downstairs Federal woodwork to the private upstairs rooms, rather than buying new

and more fashionable elements.36 No expense was spared in the public spaces, however,

and these were the height of elegance and affluence with silver-plated door hardware

(Figure 7), mahogany-veneered doors, marble mantels, and elaborate Greek revival

architectural and decorative elements (Figures 8a and b).37 Many of these architectural

elements appear to have been modeled after door and window surrounds that had just

been published by Asher Benjamin in his 1833 Practice of Architecture (Figure 9).38

35 Graham, Lounsbury and Ridout, A3.

36 Ibid., A4.

37 Ibid.

38 Asher Benjamin, • • Practice o f Architecture: Containing the five orders o f architecture and an additional column and entablature, with all their elements and details explained and illustrated. For the use o f carpenters and practical men(Boston: by the author and Carter, Hendee & Co., 1833), Plates 26, 39, 40.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This new room arrangement dramatically changed the function of individual

rooms as well as the entire house. It also altered the way in which the Aikens presented

themselves to the world. What had formerly been a familiar structure within the

Charleston vernacular displayed, after the renovation, characteristics that were more

analogous to European villas. An elevated, marble entry hall with a double staircase is

not reflective of the local architecture, either in design or material. The Aikens’ entry

(Figure 10) is, however, highly evocative of the vestibule at Charlottenhof, part of Sans

Souci Palace in Pottsdam, Germany, and built by the architect Karl Schinkel in 1829

(Figure 11).39 The Aiken house also steps away from the typical double and single

houses of Charleston in that it was redesigned to be flexible in its function. Rooms were

reconfigured and added in order to facilitate discrete forms of socialization, intellectual

discourse, dining, sleeping, etc. At the same time the rooms could all be united to form

one large arena for grandiose entertaining.

Aesthetically, Charleston was, in some respects, more akin to European cities than

to its American counterparts. The Aiken house must have emphasized this correlation,

which was commented upon by the Swedish traveler Fredrika Bremer: “The exterior of

the city, ... rather resembled a city of the European continent, at least in the style of its

houses, than either Boston or New York.”40 Charlestonians had long associated

39 Harriet Aiken noted in her travel diary that the family did visit San Souci in 1857 and William Aiken may have toured Charlottenhof upon its completion in 1829, which coincided with his first European tour.

40 Fredrika Bremer, Homes o f the New World: Impressions o f America (London: A. Hall, Virtue, 1853), 270.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. themselves with Europe, and with England in particular.41 It is therefore not surprising

that the Aikens chose to fashion themselves in the mostau courant architectural style and

one with unmistakable European antecedents, the Greek revival. Having returned from

Europe only three years earlier, William Aiken certainly brought back with him “a visual

vocabulary that supplemented [his] classical learning, ... represented |hisj affinity with

the classical world”, and was tangibly expressed through the creation of his house.42

The finished interiors were, by all accounts, among the finest in the city. A

description by an 1839 guest attested to the newly completed and sumptuous

surroundings when he remarked:

last night I was at the handsomest ball I have ever seen - given by Mrs. Aiken - Miss Lowndes that was - they live near Boundary Street in a house he has added to, & furnished very handsomely - 2 floors were entirely thrown open - the orchestra from the theatre played for the dances - and the supper table was covered with a rich service of silver - light in profusion, & a crowded handsomely draped assembly 43

41 Robert A. Leath and Maurie D. Mclnnis, “To Blend Pleasure with Knowledge”, in Maurie D. Mclnnis and Angela Mack, In Pursuit o f Refinement, Charlestonians Abroad: 1740-1860 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999), 11.

42 Maurie D. Mclnnis “The Politics of Taste: Classicism in Charleston, South Carolina, 1815-1840”, 23. Aside from expressing the Aikens classical affiliation, the remodeled house also lent the impression of a regulated and orderly domestic domain. The 1830s renovations did not focus solely on the house; the kitchen building was doubled in size and the stable may have gained a second story. All street access through these outbuildings was terminated, making the rear gate the only point of entry to the rear yard. Two privies with Gothic revival details were built in the rear corners of the yard, and the stucco and masonry wall enclosing the property was raised to its present height of about twelve feet. See Martha Zierden, “Aiken-Rhett House: Archaeological Research” (The Charleston Museum, 2003), 16.

43 From a letter written to Francis Kinloch Middleton from [unknown source], February 24, 1839, Cheves-Middleton papers, South Carolina Historical Society.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This detailed description imparts the profound emphasis that the Aikens placed on

the importance of entertaining and on the ambience of the spaces. From the numerous

accounts reciting the extraordinary nature of their many balls and parties, it is fair to say

that, to them, entertainment was an art form. Although the partygoer noted that both

floors were opened to revelers, only some rooms were specifically designated as spaces

for entertainment. These important rooms have therefore been selected for interpretation

in this paper and are: the double drawing rooms, the dining room, the family

parlor/withdrawing room and the art gallery. In these particular spaces, the interior wall

and decorative treatments are relatively intact. Furthermore, most of the extant family

furnishings were originally located within these rooms. These public spaces signify the

ways in which William and Harriet Aiken chose to represent themselves publicly over a

period of almost 30 years, thus allowing an in-depth study of the self-fashioning of

identity through material goods.

Furnishing the Entertaining Spaces, 1838-1858

This section will examine the furnishings of the entertaining spaces as they

appeared from the time they were initially decorated in 1838 until 1858. It will consist of

a room-by-room inventory and interpretation of probable furnishings, window and wall

treatments. This information will be used as a comparison to the 1858 redecoration to

determine how and why the appearance of the rooms changed. We will begin by

following the route that an invited visitor to the Aiken house might take.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Access inside the home was considerably altered after the 1838 renovation and

obliged a guest to step through the front door into the grand marble entrance hall.

Depending on one’s purpose for being at the house, a visitor would be escorted either up

the double marble staircase fitted with an ornately decorated wrought iron balustrade, or

down the center stairs to the cellar and storage area. A nearly identical staircase

illustrated by Rudolph Ackermann in his 1801 Designs for Architects, Upholsterers,

Cabinet-Markers & c. may have served as the inspiration (Figure 12). Certainly the

Aikens would have agreed with Ackermann’s accompanying text, which exclaimed that

“a noble and magnificent Staircase announces the greatness and the richness of the

apartments; the utmost attention must therefore be paid to its decoration. ” 4 4 Not only did

the entry prepare one for the opulence of the interiors, but it shaped a visitor’s first

impression by proclaiming the Aikens’ social importance and economic prosperity. After

ascending the marble staircase, guests would turn right to enter the double drawing

rooms. The closed door ensured an element of surprise as one transitioned from the white

marble of the entry into the deep-hued and texturally complex double parlors.

Once in the drawing rooms, callers could proceed outside to the piazza or through

the small, formal library, to the dining room. The piazza (Figures 13a and b) was an

important component for all Charleston houses, serving as an outdoor room and

facilitating mobility and air circulation. It externally connected the dining room to the

drawing rooms by large tripartite windows, and in pleasant weather all doors and

4 4 Rudolph Ackermann, Designs for Architects, Upholsterers, Cabinet-Makers & c. Forming a Series o f Plans and Sections for Apartments, (London: etc. R. Ackermann, 1801), p. 5, plate III.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. windows could remain ajar, essentially creating an open floor plan. The piazza

functioned in the same manner on the second floor, by connecting the center hall with the

family parlor located above the dining room, so that guests could circulate without

passing through the two private second-floor chambers. When Fredrika Bremer visited

the house in 1850, she remarked upon its use, writing:

I have besides been to a great entertainment given by the Governor of South Carolina, Mr. Akin [sic], and his lovely wife. There was very beautiful music, and for the rest, conversation in the room, or out under the piazzas, in the shade of blossoming creepers, the clematis, the caprifolium, and roses, quite romantic in the soft night air. Five hundred persons, it is said, were invited, and the entertainment was one of the most

beautiful I have been present at in this country . 4 5

Aside from the architecture that created such grandiose open rooms, the

furnishings and decorative elements played important roles in establishing the ambiance

and function of space, as well as conveying their owner’s intimate knowledge of the most

current and fashionable goods. Included in the large percentage of objects original to the

1838 decoration is a representative amount of silver, furniture, and a few decorative

objects. What do not survive from this period are textiles, including window treatments

andi carpets. 46

The double drawing rooms (Figures 14 and 15) were the most formal and often-

used entertaining spaces in the house. Everything about their appearance from wall

4 5 Fredrika Bremer, Homes o f the New World, 398.

4 6 Some floor coverings such as straw matting and a floral decorated carpet do survive from the later nineteenth or early twentieth century. Late nineteenth window treatments are also visible in Figures 30 and 31.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. treatments to lighting fixtures, marble mantels and furnishings, portrayed their

importance. The ability to manipulate these spaces by closing or opening the pocket

doors was an essential feature in upper-class households. In northern climates double

parlors or drawing rooms might have remained as two separate rooms for much of the

time as they would have been easier to heat. In the warm and humid climate of

Charleston large, airy rooms would have not only been more comfortable than smaller

spaces, but also healthier, providing more ventilation and light. In the Aiken house these

two rooms were, for the most part, intended to function as one. Seen today, they are

mirror images of one another, complete with corresponding window placements,

matching fireplace mantels (Figures 16a and 16b) and identical lighting devices

(Catalogue number 125), including the magnificent crystal and bronze chandeliers

(Catalogue number 120).

When the drawing rooms were completed in 1838, they were probably painted in

a royal blue ultramarine color. This pigment was originally offered as artist’s paint, and

therefore, would have been exceedingly expensive. The ornate foliate-decorated ceiling

medallions and architraves were cream-colored with gilt painting, while the cornices

were an off white and the base boards a dark grey . 4 7 Set against the opulent wall color

was a collection of fashionable furniture designed in the plain Grecian style.

The extant furniture probably used in these rooms included several pairs: three

pairs of sofas, two of which have caned seats and arms; two pairs of rectangular ottomans

4 7 Susan Louise Buck, “The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study”, 195.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that match the third pair of sofas; a pair of cane-bottomed lounges; four arm chairs that

were likely part of a larger set, two caned arm chairs also likely part of a larger set, a pair

of armchairs with leaf and shell carved crest rails; a marble-topped center table, and at

least four card tables (catalogue numbers 28-32, 34-35 44-47 and 52).

One card table made during the mid-late 1820s, appears to be the work of Deming

and Bulkley, the New York firm that warehoused New York-made furniture in

Charleston (Catalogue number 44). They catered to the wealthiest consumers in the city

and also supplied goods to middle market clientele . 4 8 Their relationship with the Aikens

is confirmed by an 1835 desk-and-bookcase with a partial Deming and Bulkley label

(Catalogue number 71) that has descended in the Aiken family. Typical of their work at

the time, the card table is supported by dolphin-carved legs with front dolphin supports.

It predates almost all of the other furnishings by more than ten years, suggesting that it

was perhaps an inherited piece, or could have been a wedding present to the couple. In

his will, Thomas Lowndes bequeathed all of his furniture to be divided equally amongst

his children, and it is possible that this piece once belonged to Harriet’s parents and was

moved to Elizabeth Street upon Mr. Lowndes death in 1844 4 9

By the late 1830s, the plain Grecian style was the height of fashion. Surviving

objects indicate that most of the furniture purchased for the house at this time was of this

a a t Maurie D. Mclnnes and Robert A. Leath. “Beautiful Specimens, Elegant Patterns: New York Furniture for the Charleston Market, 1810-1840.” American Furniture (1999)., ed. Luke Beckerdite, 137-174, (Hanover, New Hampshire: Chipstone Foundation, 1999), 165-168.

4 9 Will of Thomas Lowndes, January, 1844, Box 23, #10. Charleston County, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. style.50The acquisition and possession of veneered en suite furniture canbe viewed as a

homeowner’s expression of their modernity. The bold forms and highly veneered

surfaces spoke to new developments in furniture technology, and as the architectural

details and lighting devices of their domestic interiors demonstrate, the Aikens were very

aware of technological innovations. Their furniture was no exception.

For the purposes of this thesis I have not identified other furniture makers

patronized by the Aikens. Plain Grecian furniture adhered to a popular national style and

cabinetmakers from Baltimore to New York and Boston produced similarly veneered

parlor suites. The importance of the Aikens’ furniture lies not necessarily in the specific

craftsmen whom they patronized, but rather the quality of the objects, the style in which

they were executed, and the overall effect that they had within the spaces. The city in

which the furniture was manufactured is also important as it conveys information

regarding spheres of influence. The known relationship with Deming and Bulkley, along

with stylistic elements and secondary woods of white pine, poplar and ash, suggest that

the majority of the furniture is from New York. This connection is hardly surprising

given close economic and trade ties had existed between Charleston and New York since

the trade embargo of 1807.

Though fashionable and modern, little of the Aikens’ furniture exhibits decorative

details that are seen on other (more expensive) furnishings made at the same time. This

is especially apparent when the Aiken objects are compared to pieces made in the late

5 0 Bedroom furniture also purchased at that this time is executed in the Plain style. Included are two sleigh beds, a press, commode, and dressing chest.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1830s and early 1840s by Duncan Phyfe and Son (Figures 17a and 17b). They too, sold

their plain Grecian furniture to some of South Carolina’s wealthiest families. John and

Susan Manning of Milford Plantation purchased an entire suite of Phyfe furniture for

their newly built Greek revival mansion . 5 1 Although they were of the same social

standing and likely equal in wealth to the Aikens, the Manning’s chose furniture

produced by Phyfe that was aesthetically superior to Deming and Bulkley and other New

York cabinetmaker’s wares.

Aiken’s preference of other craftsmen over Phyfe may be attributed to several

reasons. Duncan Phyfe was notoriously slow in fulfilling orders, and with a Deming and

Bulkley furniture warehouse several blocks away the Aikens were able to walk in and

order whatever they saw and liked . 5 2 Phyfe’s high prices may have also been another

factor. When William Aiken’s political rival James Henry Hammond shopped for

furniture in New York in 1840, he wrote to his wife that Phyfe was selling a single settee

for $70, but he was able to procure from another unnamed cabinetmaker plain settees

with cane-bottomed seats for the lesser price of $60 a pair. 5 3 Based on these numbers, we

can estimate that Aiken paid around $60 a pair for his undecorated caned settees and

5 1 See Thomas Gordon Smith “Living With Antiques: Milford Plantation,”The Magazine Antiques, vol. 151 (May 1997), 732-741.

5 2 Letters between Sarah Elliott Huger and Harriot Pinckney Horry attest to the long wait to receive Phyfe’s furniture. See Maurie D. Mclnnes and Robert A. Leath. “Beautiful Specimens, Elegant Patterns: New York Furniture for the Charleston Market, 1810- 1840,” 147-148.

5 3 Letter from James Henry Hammond to his wife, 25 August 1840, James Henry Hammond letters, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. lounges. Still, the question remains of why a family who could afford the best of

everything, including ultramarine paint for the walls, did not buy the most costly and the

most beautiful furniture available. This query is probably best answered by considering

the furniture as presented within the larger context of the rooms.

The walls and windows of the drawing rooms appear to have received the most

attention; they were decorated with expensive paint, lavish window treatments and large,

floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The surviving elaborately decorated window hardware,

including cornices, gilt curtain rods and ornate tiebacks, confirms that expensive window

treatments once hung in these rooms (Catalogue numbers 133-137). Period design books

such as James Arrowsmith’s An Analysis o f Drapery and Thomas King’s The

Upholsterer’s Accelerator illustrate different methods of hanging curtains and provide

ideas as to what the Aikens’ windows might have looked like (Figure 18, 19 and 20 ) . 5 4

The price of textiles far outweighed the cost of almost any other household furnishing as

they were usually imported, time-consuming to make and the raw materials difficult to

obtain. In 1833, cabinetmakers Joseph Meeks and Sons advertised bed hangings and

curtains along with other furnishings, which helps to contextualize the price of textiles.

The cost of bedsteads that were priced between $50-$ 100 soared to $200-$600 once fitted

5 4 James Arrowsmith, An Analysis of Drapery: or The Upholsterer's Assistant, Illustrated with Twenty Plates to Which is Annexed a Table, Showing the Proportions fo r Cutting One Hundred and Thirty Various Sized Festoons (London, M. Bell, 1819), Plate 20, Thomas King, The Upholsterer's Accelerator: Being Rules for Cutting and Forming Draperies, Valences, & c. Accompanied by Appropriate Remarks (London: At the

Architectural and Scientific Library, 1833), Plates 8 , 11.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. with curtains.55 Carpets succumbed to the same fate as the curtains and as such, do not

survive. Floor tack patterns indicate that wall-to-wall carpet, likely a Wilton or imported

French carpet, was installed and kept down during the winter months, to be covered with

or replaced by straw matting in the summer.

Another costly expenditure were the four large pier mirrors, measuring 126 by 60

inches, which were mounted in the four opposing corners of the rooms and extended

from the baseboards to the cornice. Three of the mirrors remain in situ (Catalogue

number 83). Each room had a large overmantel mirror, one of which remains in place

today. They created the effect of continually reflective surfaces and also cast copious

amounts of light throughout the rooms. Mirrors this size are seldom depicted in paintings

of American interiors, a testament to their rarity and cost. John H. Williams and Son

made a pier mirror of similar proportions and decoration in New York in 1845, and in

1839 a New York auctioneer advertised “handsome pier glasses, 109 by 38 inches ” . 5 6

These wall elements, in essence, dressed out the rooms and created a brilliant backdrop to

the action taking place on the floor.

Furniture often receives the utmost attention by material culture scholars and is

frequently regarded as the most important element within a room. When viewed within

the context of the Aiken home, however, all of the elements worked in tandem to create a

5 5 Amelia Peck, “The Products of Empire: Shopping for Home Decorations in New York City”, in Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861, ed. Catherine Hoover Voorsanger and John K. Howat (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 281.

5 6 Catherine Hoover Voorsanger, “Gorgeous Articles of Furniture”: Cabinetmaking, in Art and the Empire City, 291. For catalogue entry of John H. Williams and Son mirror see Art and the Empire City, 519.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. sensual, aesthetic experience. The goal of these rooms, and of the house in general, was

not to showcase important or rare furnishings, but to create an overall atmosphere of

luxury and indulgence that would, in turn, bolster political and social discourse.

In the dining room (Figure 21), the furniture played a more prominent role,

serving as props upon which to display the Aikens’ large collection of silver and

porcelain. A guest or household member could enter the dining room through the large

door off the piazza or through the library, a pathway that reinforced the Aikens’ literary

and cultural knowledge. Once inside, guests were treated to an eye-catching display of

marble-topped furniture, mirrored surfaces and an abundance of silver and porcelain.

The dining furniture is similar in appearance to the highly veneered furniture

located in the drawing room, a look that created continuity from room to room. A pair of

marble-topped sideboards (catalogue number 59) with alabaster pedestals, mirrored

backsplash and mahogany veneered surfaces, complete with a pair of mahogany veneered

cellarets, were likely placed in niches on either side of the fireplace. A 1958 Historic

American Building Survey (HABS) photograph (Figure 22) shows the sideboards in this

position. While many sideboards were equipped with deep drawers and shelves for

storage, the Aikens’ examples were fitted only with pullout slides on either end. The

obvious lack of storage indicates that they served only to display, rather than store, the

copious amounts of silver. Moreau de Saint-Mery remarked that “before dinner and all

during dinner, as is the English custom, all the silver one owns is displayed on the

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. sideboard in the dining room.”57Betsy Garrett also notes that “tables in the South were

more remarkable for their abundance of silver than their supply of china. Conspicuous,

unbreakable, easily maintained, readily secured under lock and key, and convertible to

currency if necessary, silver was admirably suited to plantation patterns of life . ” 5 8

The abundance of Aiken silver was remarked upon by Nathaniel Bishop, an 1875

visitor to Jehossee: “The family plate, valued at fifteen thousand dollars, was stored in a

chest in a room on the ground floor of the house.” He added that by the Civil War, at

least thirty thousand additional dollars’ worth had been added to the original amount,

much of which was then stolen by the Union troops. 5 9 It is quite possible that the author

inflated this figure, but he was sufficiently awed to record his impressions. Though

period remarks imply that the surviving pieces are but a small fraction of what originally

existed, they offer an indication of the quality and provenance of the former collection.

Fifteen silver objects can be traced to the Aikens. They have been identified

either by the engraved initials “WHA”, for William and Harriet Aiken; the Aiken coat of

arms; or the Aiken crest. Three spoons (Catalogue number 8 ), originally part of a larger

set decorated in a modified King’s pattern, are stamped with English date marks for 1835

to 1836. Several other English-made objects also share this same date mark, including a

5 7 Moreau de Saint-Mery, Moreau de Saint-Mery’s American Journey, 1793-1798, Translated and edited by Kenneth Roberts and Anna M. Roberts (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1947), 266, as cited in Elizabeth D. Garrett, At Home: The American Family 1750-1870 (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1990), 89.

5 8 Elizabeth D. Garrett , At Home: The American Family, 1750-1870, 91.

5 9 Nathaniel H. Bishop, Voyage o f the Paper Canoe, Chapter XII, 3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tray, butter dish and wine cooler (Catalogue numbers 4-6), signifying that they were

post-wedding purchases made by the Aikens for their new home. In addition to English

silversmiths, the Aikens also patronized silversmiths and goldsmiths in Philadelphia,

New York and Charleston (Catalogue numbers 7, 10, 18-19). Though few in number,

these objects allow us to imagine exactly how “the supper table was covered with a rich

service of silver. ” 6 0

Accompanying the silver objects at the table was an extensive set of English

porcelain manufactured between 1813 and 1819 by the Flight Barr and Barr Company

(Catalogue number 23). Many of the pieces bear subtle differences in decoration and

color, which suggest different production years. The pattern is an imitation of the

kakiemon style of seventeenth-century Japanese porcelains and depicts birds, flowers and

trees handpainted in polychrome enamel. It was one of the most expensive of the time. 6 1

Unlike many of the silver objects, the dates of the porcelain are substantially earlier than

William and Harriet’s marriage. A possible reference to the acquisition of the dinnerware

may be found in the will of Harriet’s father, Thomas Lowndes. In addition to

bequeathing his household furniture (possibly including the aforementioned dolphin-leg

table), Lowndes also left to his children “my dinner and dessert sett [sic] of porcelain

6 0 From a letter written to Francis Kinloch Middleton from [unknown source], February 24, 1839.

6 1 Catalogue entry by Robert Leath in Maurie D. Mclnnis and Angela Mack, In Pursuit of Refinement, Charlestonians Abroad: 1740-1860 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999), 292.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. china imported from Europe many years ago. ” 6 2 The Aiken dinnerware certainly fits the

description of English porcelain, which in 1844 would have been imported at least twenty

years earlier. This is a wonderful example of how the Aikens retained and displayed their

familial connections through material goods from past generations.

The dining room also contained at least one columnar-shaped plate holder fitted

with two shelves (Catalogue number 63). Designed to store china under lock and key, this

object is an example of one method of storage that was used instead of the sideboard. A

large dining table fitted with several leaves, also attributed to Deming and Bulkley

(Catalogue number 58), remains in the dining room today. The original dining chairs

have not been located, but they were likely designed in the Grecian style and purchased

as a set of at least twelve. Other furniture might have consisted of another sideboard or

table and perhaps bookcases. An unusual sideboard (Catalogue number 60) is depicted in

the same 1958 HABS photograph of the dining room. Its most distinguishing features are

the two front legs with Jacobean style figural heads that extend downward into two

reeded legs and end in a small boot. The design for the sophisticated figural carving was

probably borrowed from the plates of either Thomas Hope or George Smith, both of

whom published similar motifs in their respective books . 6 3

6 2 Will of Thomas Lowndes, January, 1844, Box 23, #10. Charleston County, South Carolina

63 Thomas Hope,Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, 1807); George Smith, A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in the Most Approved and Elegant (London: Taste J. Taylor, 1808).

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. As in the drawing rooms, the dining room would have been outfitted with costly

window treatments and wall-to-wall carpeting. The curtains may not have been as

extravagant as those in the drawing rooms since they would have retained odors from the

various foods. Paint analysis suggests that the room was initially painted a pale blue

color, with a pale blue/grey and white cornice and ceiling medallion, a palette that must

have worked well as a contrast to the dark, mahogany veneer furniture and dark marble

surfaces . 6 4

Dining at the Aiken house allowed for intimate discourse and interaction between

local political leaders, groups of friends, and family members. In all occasions, the

grandeur of the dining event was reinforced by the abundance of silver objects, plentitude

of foods, and the presence of domestic slaves. 6 5 In 1863 Mary Chestnut wrote of

Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ dinner at the Aiken house. Her powerful and

haunting remarks reveal both the entrenched dependence that southerners had on slavery,

and the degree to which they had detached themselves from its reality:

Mr. Aiken’s perfect old Carolina style of living delighted him; those old grey-haired darkies and their automatic, noiseless perfection of training. One does miss that sort of thing. Your own servants think for you, they know your ways and your wants, they save you all responsibility

even in matters of you own ease and well-being. 6 6

6 4 Susan Louise Buck, “The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study”, 200-202.

6 5 The Charleston Daily Courier, 3 November 1863.

6 6 A Diary From Dixie, 321-322.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. When the formalities of dining and entertaining were put aside, the Aikens

retreated to a less formal room reserved for familial activities such as reading, sewing,

letter writing and card playing. The northeast room (Figures 23 and 24) above the dining

room would have functioned perfectly as a family parlor. Architectural historians have

argued, mostly based on the informal nature of the rear stairhall, that this room served as

the best bedroom from the 1830s until the 1850s, but such use seems unlikely. Adequate

sleeping quarters, including two large bedrooms with attached dressing rooms, were

already in place for the three family members and additional room existed for guests.

Several reasons point to the rooms use as a combination family parlor and office

space for William Aiken. The family had a collection of over 500 books, only a small

percentage of which could fit in the formal library, thereby necessitating a room that

could accommodate their use and storage. Betsy Garrett notes that in most homes,

bookcases, books and desks were more often found in back parlors where the mood was

more informal and the use more frequent, but that a separate library might also be located

on a second floor. 6 7 As a politician and businessman, William Aiken required an office

space and since no separate office is listed under his name in the Charleston City

Directories, one was likely located within the home. 6 8 He owned a desk-and bookcase

(Catalogue number 71) that is too large for the formal library, but would have fit nicely

into this upstairs room. Finally, a family parlor was commonplace in almost every upper-

6 7 Elizabeth D. Garrett, At Home: The American Family 1750-1870, 65.

68The locations of gentlemen’s offices are listed under their home addresses in the City Directories, but no other addresses are given for William Aiken.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. class American home and was usually located behind the formal parlor - a location that

was impossible in the Aiken home. The 1839 partygoer’s comments that both floors were

entirely thrown open, provides another indication that the second floor must have

contained some sort of semi-public space, which could, when necessary, accommodate

large numbers of people.

Furnishings for this room may have included work or sewing tables (Catalogue

numbers 48-50), seating furniture, bookcases (Catalogue number 73) and at least one

desk and bookcase. The exact wall color for the pre-1858 period is inconclusive as

remnants of both a pale pink and a pale blue color are visible on the plaster . 6 9 Though

not originally conceived as a public entertaining space, this room would have functioned

as such when necessary, but on a daily basis would have been used by family members.

Away From Home: Politics and Travel

The twenty years following the initial 1833-1838 renovation and decoration of the

house saw the Aikens away from their home for much of the time as a result of William’s

political career, Harriet’s ailing health and the 1848 Grand Tour. Very little is known

about William’s early political ambitions, but in 1838, just after the completion of the

house, he began the first of three successive terms in the South Carolina State

Legislature. 70 By early 1844 he had his sights on the office of governor. In early

6 9 Susan Louise Buck, “The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study”, 204.

70 News and Courier, 8 September 1887

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. November of that year, it appeared that Aiken would in fact be victorious and his political

rival Robert Allston lamented to this wife: “The address, the civilities, and kindnesses of

Mr. Aiken have captivated most of the leading men in the legislature and about this place,

and the better opinion is that he will be elected governor.”71

Allston’s fears were realized on December 8 , 1844, when William Aiken, with the

support of John C. Calhoun, replaced James Henry Hammond as governor of South

Carolina. The inauguration, which followed three days later, was described in

Hammond’s private diary. Unable to contain his bitterness, he wrote that

the legislature were loath to elect him, and it can find no sensible man who does not deplore it. He is an old Union man. Aiken was a classmate of mine in College. He was agreed to be the greatest dunce in College and thought by many to be the most niggardly. The latter was perhaps unjust. He has improved since in every particular but is wholly incompetent to this office. He is vastly rich. His sole pretention. He is however a good

fellow. Our personal relations were always kind, and are so still. 7 2

Hammond continued to complain that “Aiken shows his weakness in being unable

to conceal his excessive elation at being made governor. Being unable to comprehend

and feel his true position, he imagines it to be a much more important one than it is, and

will, I fear, assume beyond his sphere. To use a vulgar expression he seems to think he

has the world in a sling. ” 7 3

71 Anthony Q. Devereux, The Life and Times o f Robert F. W. Allston (Georgetown, SC: Waccamaw Press, 1976), 117.

72 Secret and Sacred: The Diaries of James Henry Hammond, a Southern Slaveholder, ed. Carol Bleser (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 132-133.

7 3 Ibid., 135.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Aiken’s penchant for grand parties was not confined solely to his Charleston

home and of his inauguration party in Columbia, Hammond wrote that he “opened 30

dozen of Champaign the first night and had all the modus in town with him. He opened

the bottles again today and evidently goes in for a show. His inaugural was decent . ” 7 4

Notwithstanding their political differences, Aiken and Hammond were remarkably

similar in their background, education and political aspirations. Both men married

wealthy, upper-class women from Charleston, and both traveled extensively throughout

Europe assembling large collections of art.

Throughout the two years he was in office, William Aiken was at most a part-time

inhabitant of his Charleston home. He likely took lodgings in a home or a Columbia

boarding house since the governor’s mansion was not built until the 1850’s. As no

personal family records survive from this time, it is also unknown if Harriet accompanied

her husband to Columbia on a full-time basis, or if she resided part time in each city.

After leaving office in December 1846, Aiken likely moved back to Charleston in

time to participate in the social season and to plan for the their first Grand Tour as a

family. For the first of several letters of introduction, William Aiken called upon his

political ally John Calhoun to whom he sent a message via John Carew:

I have just rec[eive]d a letter from Ex Gov. Aiken who is at present at his plantation requesting me to ask the favor of you to send him some letters of introduction to persons in Europe. He leaves the United States early in May and is anxious to obtain letters to Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Cobden, in

7 4 Ibid.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. London and Marshall Soult, Monsieur Guizot and Thiers in Paris or any

others that you may choose. 7 5

The Aikens apparently left for Europe later than they initially intended as a letter

dated May 29, 1847, and addressed to the Consul General of the King of the Netherlands,

at Trieste, notified him that the Aiken family would be “leaving by steamer on the first of

June for Liverpool” and will be traveling “as far as Trieste and perhaps even to Turkey,

Greece and Egypt . ” 7 6 Although we may never know if they indeed traveled throughout

the Middle East, the Aikens did join other Charlestonians, such as the Manigaults and the

Cheveses in Paris in the winter of 1847.

In Gabriel Manigault’s 1887 autobiography he fondly reminisced of his time

spent with the Aiken family in their Paris apartment. After his Sunday evening dinner

companions, Mr. and Mrs. Cheves, returned to America, Manigault subsequently spent

those evenings with the Aikens, an arrangement that “was the commencement of an

intimacy with (himself) and his family, which had continued without interruption to the 11 present.” According to Manigault’s notes, the Aikens remained in Paris until at least

February of 1848, staying first at the Rue Castiglion and then moving to a more tranquil

spot in the basement level of the Hotel de la Rochefoucauld. Wishing to stay in quarters

75 John Carew to John C. Calhoun in Clyde N. Wilson, ed.The Papers o f John C. Calhoun, Vol. XXXIV, 1846-1847 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991), 318.

7 6 Letter to Monsieur Chevalier D.P. Dutilh from Eugene Dutilh, 29 May 1847, Aiken- Rhett correspondence, Historic Charleston Foundation.

7 7 Gabriel E. Manigault manuscript, June 1887, p. 51. Manigault Family papers, Southern Historical Collection (hereafter SHC).

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. comparable to their own Charleston dwelling, the apartment was “a typical residence of

the French nobility under the old regime [and indicated] wealth and elbow room that a

distinguished title required, where the nobles had position very near to royalty.” 78

Residing with the immediate family were Mr. Aiken’s mother, who had remarried after

her husband’s death and moved to Paris some years prior, her African-American servant

from Charleston, and Dr. Lingard Frampton, Governor Aiken’s cousin.

The Revolution of 1848, which saw the abdication of Louis Philippe and the

establishment of a new republic, occurred while the Aikens were living in Paris. The

event had a profound impact on them, both as Americans and as collectors. Gabriel

Manigault noted that he found Governor Aiken “quite enthusiastic about a new French

republic,” but Harriet apparently did not share the same sentiments as her husband . 7 9

While exploring the city streets where numerous barricades had been erected, Mrs. Aiken

gave “vent freely to her feelings, and said very emphatically, that she had not come to

Paris to live under a republic. She had enough of that sort of thing at home. ” 8 0 A staunch

supporter of nationalism, William Aiken saw the revolution as an attempt to unite a

country and its citizens, while Harriet, perhaps recognizing impending democratization

and the influence of republicanism within her own country, equated the revolution to

what might be an eventual end to the elite life she had known.

7 8 Ibid.

7 9 Ibid.

8 0 Ibid.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In addition to fostering a new government, the deposition of Louis Philippe also

provided an opportunity for collecting. In a late nineteenth-century newspaper article

written about the Aikens’ art collection, the author noted that a magnificent red boulle-

work table, which now resides in the art gallery, originally belonged to the king and was

purchased after his escape from Paris in 1848.81 Family tradition maintains that the pair

of crystal chandeliers in the double drawing rooms was also purchased after the

revolution. 8 2 Such sales were common. In 1830, Charles Izard Manigault learned of a

Roman prince in financial difficulty who “would be glad to sell his paintings and

statuary . ” 8 3 Unfortunately for Manigault, “everything that attracted [his] attention...was

a great price so that [he] came away without purchasing a thing. ” 8 4 The high prices were

no obstacle for Aiken, and his ownership of this table was a direct material representation

of the transition from monarchy to republicanism.

Upon returning to Charleston in October 1848, William and Harriet spent the next

two years re-immersing themselves in the Charleston social scene, overseeing rice

production at Jehossee and preparing for William’s race for the United States Congress. 8 5

81 From a newspaper clipping * dating around 1890-1910, signed only Eqla W. The clipping was found among the papers of Claudia Rhett and is now in the collection of The Charleston Museum.

8 2 Charleston Museum docent guide, Aiken-Rhett paper, Charleston Museum

83 Charles Izard Manigault, travel diary, • February 1830, South Caroliniana Library, as quoted in Maurie D. Mclnnis, “Picture Mania,” in Maurie D. Mclnnis and Angela Mack, In Pursuit o f Refinement, Charlestonians Abroad: 1740-1860, 42.

8 4 Ibid.

85 New York 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In the summer of 1850 the Aikens hosted another grand ball, an event probably intended

to gamer support for the upcoming congressional election. 8 6 In 1851 Aiken was elected

to the United States Congress from the Charleston District where he served three

consecutive terms until 1857. Letters written from Harriet to her mother and sister, as

well as third-party diary entries, indicate that Harriet and Henrietta also made the move to

the Capital. 8 7 Numerous references imply that while in Washington the Aikens

continued their patterns of travel, entertainment and collecting. A letter dated July 5,

1851 notifies the recipient that Mrs. Aiken’s mail had been forwarded to London.

Although no other documents survive to corroborate this, it is tempting to theorize that

the Aikens traveled to London that summer to see the Crystal Palace Exhibition. 8 8 The

exhibition, which opened on May 1 of that year, brought together material goods from a

number of nations, including the widely promoted and controversial sculpture of The

Greek Slave by Hiram Powers . 8 9 The experience of viewing Power’s acclaimed statue in

8 6 Frederika Bremer, Homes o f the New World, 398.

8 7 For references to the Aikens in Washington see,An Evening When Alone: Four Journals o f Single Women in the South, 1827-76, ed. Michael O’Brien (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993), 191.

o O Letter from Walters and Walker addressed to Col. Singleton, Flat Rock, N.C., 5 July

1851. In the Singleton papers #6 6 8 , SHC.

8 9 Hermione Hobhouse, The Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition (London: The Athlone Press, 2002), 66-74. The Aikens were certainly not alone in the purchase of Powers’ sculptures. His work was very popular at the time, due in large part to publicity from the Greek Slave. He was also commissioned by the city of Charleston to create a statue of John C. Calhoun.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1851 may have prompted the Aikens’ purchase of their own Powers statueProserpine of

in 1857.

The family also spent September and October of 1853 traveling the hot springs

circuit as a means to remedy Harriet’s bouts of arthritis, aches and poor eyesight. These

popular resorts not only provided temporary relief for certain afflictions, but also allowed

opportunities for the Aikens to hobnob with other elites. 9 0 The family also spent time

visiting relatives in New York City, which gave them opportunities to observe the latest

fashions in furnishings, clothing and art.

The Aikens continued to acquire a few furnishings throughout the 1840s and

1850s, but not on the scale of their earlier purchases. Two bookcases, a loveseat, and a

mahogany and maple-veneer desk, are examples of these later acquisitions (Catalogue

numbers 33, 72, 74, 75). Some artwork was also acquired during this time and while in

Washington, the Aikens may have bought the three engravings of important American

statesmen (Catalogue numbers 91-93). The unexpected assemblage of images which now

hangs in the library consists of John C. Calhoun, Aiken’s political ally and opponent of

the Tariff of 1828; Daniel Webster, a champion of American nationalism and Calhoun’s

bitter opponent; and Henry Clay, also an advocate of the protective tariff who was known

as the “Great Pacificator.” While the images of Clay and Webster may have been

distasteful to secessionist-minded visitors, the engravings were visual proof of Aiken’s

flexible political leanings as well as a reminder of his position within the national

political sphere.

9 0 Letters from Harriet L. Aiken in Singleton Family Papers, SHC.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The astounding nature of the Aikens’ worldly travels, along with their intimate

concern with politics and government, shaped their identity as cultured citizens, schooled

in the ways of international thought and awareness. Their choices in furnishings for their

home also reflect this mentality. By purchasing New York furniture in Charleston, the

Aikens were competing within a national market, but on a local level. The information

gleaned from surviving furnishings indicates on one level their tastes in material goods,

but it also reveals a pattern of collecting that shows how they changed as consumers over

a 30-year period. The main investments made during the initial decoration were limited

to interior wall, window and floor treatments, furniture, silver, and ceramics, essentially

the goods necessary to set up a fine house equipped for entertainment and sociability.

Already established within the local, national and international arena of taste and

politics, the Aikens, in 1858, again renovated their home, this time creating a large art

collection, dedicated art gallery and entertaining spaces fashioned as European salons.

The following sections will explore and interpret these new collections, looking at what

objects remained within the home and what was abandoned in the creation of new rooms.

Just as they outwardly competed within the consumer marketplace of 1830s, the Aikens

also consciously sought to create identities compatible with their southern

contemporaries. As the tensions grew throughout the 1850s between the North and

South, the Aikens expanded their international consciousness by filling their interiors

with artistic and decorative signifiers of their European association.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Grand Tour of 1857 - 1858

On August 15, 1857, William, Harriet and Henrietta Aiken departed Charleston

on the steamer Marion, bound first for New York and then Liverpool. 9 1 This fifteen-

month trip would be unlike any of their previous travels, for it is during this time that the

Aikens emerge as serious art collectors. Harriet’s travel diary, which spans a period of

about eight months, provides an illuminating glimpse at the cities they visited, how much

time they spent in each location, and a few of the purchases made along the way.

Dressed in the finest clothes and boasting an entourage of servants, coaches and a

“ridiculous quantity of trunks - distributed in three carriages,” the Aiken family made

their way through Europe, stopping to visit numerous art exhibits and public and private

galleries. 92 One of their first destinations was the “Art Niuvu” exhibit in Manchester;

they then proceeded on to Cologne to visit a gallery of paintings. Ten days were spent in

Vienna seeing churches and galleries, and by November they had reached Italy where

they lived until after the Easter holidays. In Italy, the travelers devoted their time to

studying works of art in some of the world’s most renowned art galleries and museums.

They stayed for six weeks in Florence where Harriet noted that they “ordered a statue

from Powers, and one from [leaves the space blank]...bought a mosaic table...also bought

Q-5 some pictures.”

9 1 Harriet Aiken travel diary, The Charleston Museum

92 Ibid.

9 3 Ibid.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Hiram Powers, the famous expatriate sculptor whoseGreek Slave was exhibited at

the Crystal Palace, resided in Florence at the time of the Aikens’ visit. The statue, which

Harriet noted that they ordered, was the bust of Proserpine (Catalogue number 116), who

emerges from a design of acanthus leaves. This was Powers’ second version of the

figure; it sold for less than $500 and soon became his most popular replica. 9 4 Another

statue purchased in Florence was the large full-size figure of a reclining Mary Magdalene

(Catalogue number 114), which is signed and dated “D. Menconi, Firenze 1858.” A third

statue, a copy of Canova’sVenus d ’Italica (Catalogue number 118), also may have been

bought during this time. Although many connoisseurs no longer showed interest in

Canova’s works by the mid-nineteenth century, participants in the Grand Tour, such as

the Aikens, continued to appreciate his most famous creation. 9 5 The mosaic table

(Catalogue number 57), briefly mentioned in the diary, survives and is today owned by an

Aiken family descendent. The carved circular top features an inlaid mosaic design with a

multi-colored parrot in the center. Its paper label bears the words “Baebetti / Atelier de

Sculture / Florence / Place S. Croce No. 7695.”

After leaving Florence, the expedition continued on to Rome where they spent

two months; they then left for Pompeii and Naples, returning to the Eternal City for

Easter services at the Vatican. Several works of art were also purchased in Rome. The

9 4 Richard P. Wunder, Hiram Powers: Vermont Sculptor, 1805-1873, Volume II, Catalogue o f Works (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1991), 188-189.

9 5 Maurie D. Mclnnis, “ ‘Picture Mania’, Collectors and Collecting in Charleston”, in Maurie D. Mclnnis and Angela Mack, In Pursuit o f Refinement, Charlestonians Abroad: 1740-1860 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999), 49-50.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. statue ShepardBoy (Catalogue number117) is dated 1858 and signed by the American

sculptor Edward Sheffield Bartholomew, who resided in Rome from 1850 until his death

in Naples in 1858.96 In addition, a painting depicting a bandit scene after Salvator Rosa,

and the sculpture, First Grief (Catalogue numbers 97 andll5), may have also been

purchased in Italy . 9 7

Satiated with Italian culture, art and architecture, the travelers left Rome for

Berlin, Pottsdam and Prague, and by October 1858 they had returned to Paris. An

envelope addressed to William Aiken in Paris and stamped October 2, 1858, confirms

this date. 98 Inside the envelope was a floor plan of the first floor of their house marked

with wall and ceiling dimensions, as well as the location or the planned location of new

gas nozzles (Figure 25). Also included was a floor plan for an art gallery (Figure 26).

The plan for the proposed gallery illustrated its octagonal shape, three sculptural niches,

fireplace, doorway and center, rectangular skylight. Two months after the receiving the

plans, the Aikens were back in Charleston ready to implement their design.

9 6 Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years o f Artists in America, Vol. I:A- F, Peter Hastings Falk, editor in chief (Madison CT: Sound View Press, 1999), 221.

97 The provenance for the Rosa comes from the untitled newspaper article about the Aikens collection. Since the article seems to have been written while Harriet was alive, the information regarding the source of the paintings should be reliable.

98 The letter, floor plans and envelope in which they were mailed are located in the Aiken-Rhett files in The Charleston Museum.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1858 Renovation and Redecoration

The 1857-1858 Grand Tour not only marked the Aikens’ principal collecting

episode, but also signified Governor Aiken’s official retirement from the civic arena.

When they returned to Charleston in December of 1858, William and Harriet began to

update and modernize their home, this time adding gas fixtures, redecorating the

entertaining spaces, adding rooms to the third floor, and most importantly, building the

art gallery addition.

The house redecoration focused, for the most part, on updating the wall treatments

in the double drawing rooms, dining room and upstairs parlor. The walls of each room

were repainted and hung with elaborate wallpaper panels. The double drawing rooms

received the most ornament, in keeping with their function and importance. The large

ceiling medallions were regilded and the ceiling was painted a dull pink, over the original

cream color. The comice elements were also repainted with two shades of dull pink to

match the ceiling." French wallpaper panels marked “Paris” and decorated with

entwined flower and vine design were surrounded by double gilded wood moldings,

which were separated by a green and gilt geometric designed border (Figure 27).100 The

wallpaper patterns are very similar to designs illustrated in Owen Jones’, The Grammar

o f Ornament, published in England in 1856. The border contained within the molded

9 9 Susan Buck, The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study, Vol. I, 195.

1 0 0 A Charleston Museum docent guide located in the Aiken-Rhett files at the Charleston Museum notes that one of the panels had a stamped print mark “Paris” on the reverse side.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. surround closely resembles one of the patterns in Jones’ Turkish No. 1 (Figure 28), and

the center panel of floral and vine decoration is similar to his Byzantine No. 2 (Figure

2 9 ) 101 Thgsg designs became available in England while the Aikens were overseas.

Such modern patterns would have appealed to the family’s desire to express an intimacy

with and knowledge of the au courant.

Perhaps even more impressive than the papers are the gilt moldings, which have

“C”-scroll corners and a figural head that adorns the top central area (Catalogue number

132). Like the papers, the moldings and figural heads were likely brought back from

Europe and could explain why the wall dimensions were written on the floor plan that

was sent to Aiken in Paris. By the mid-1850s wealthy Americans were decorating their

walls with paper panels. Related examples appear in the Decatur House in Washington,

D.C., and in the Morse-Libby Mansion in Portland, Maine. Along with the wall

treatments, the textiles - curtains, carpets and even upholstery - may have also been

updated; however, none of the mid-nineteenth century textiles survive to document this

change. Photographs taken of these two rooms in 1918 show that many of these 1858

decorative elements, and much of the earlier plain Grecian furniture were still in use

some 40 years later (Figures 30 and 31).102

1 f) 1 Owen Jones, The Grammar o f Ornament (London: Day and Son, 1856) Plate XXIX, XXXVI

1 0 2 The photographs also illustrate that by 1918 Harriet Aiken’s portrait had been moved from its original place in the art gallery to the east window in the east drawing room. The window treatments and carpet are from the late nineteenth century.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A similar treatment transformed the dining room, but the overall effect was not as

grand as in the double drawing rooms. The cornice and medallion remained a pale blue-

grey and white, the other woodwork was repainted a cream color. Wallpaper panels

were installed, but unfortunately removed in the 1970s, leaving only ghost marks to

indicate their placement. It does not appear that moldings were installed around the

papers as no nail holes are visible in the plaster walls.

The upstairs parlor was subject to the most redecoration and renovation, although

again, the finished product was not as ornate as the drawing rooms. This room originally

functioned as a family parlor and perhaps as office space for Mr. Aiken. The 1858

redecoration gave it a major facelift and the resulting effect was one of heightened

importance and formality. Both a plaster cornice with leaf-and-vine decoration and a

central rococo revival ceiling medallion were added, and a black marble mantel replaced

the earlier fireplace surround . 1 0 4 The walls were repainted a cream color (over an earlier

pale pink), and red and gilded wallpaper panels were installed . 105 The panels had an

elaborate architectural border that mimicked, in paper, the wood and gilt molding from

the drawing rooms. The enhanced appearance of the room suggests a change in its

function from a family parlor to a withdrawing room, or perhaps a formal music room.

103 Susan Buck, The Aiken-Rhett • House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study, Vol. I, 200-203 for all information pertaining to the period II and Period III wall treatments in the dining room.

1 0 4 Graham, Lounsbury and Ridout, Architectural Investigations o f the Aiken-Rhett House, 91.

1 05 Susan Buck, 203-205.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In addition to updating the appearance of the entertaining rooms, the 1858

renovation also saw the addition of gas lighting throughout the house and the installation

of a bell system. Charleston was the fifteenth U.S. city to receive its gas charter in 1846,

and by the mid 1850s the more prosperous neighborhoods were able to pipe gas into the

home. 106 Every room in house was updated with gas wall fixtures, ranging from

examples with Arabesque designs to those with leaf-and-scroll decoration (Catalogue

numbers 125-130).

Along with the adoption of new gas lighting, a few new furniture forms were also

introduced into the home at this time. Only a few pieces of furniture survive from the

1858-1860 period, indicating that the Aikens’ primary concern was to install the art

gallery and conduct cosmetic renovations to the entertaining rooms, rather than refurnish

the house. A circular bourne (Catalogue number 40) with a center pedestal, may have

been purchased for use in the renovated and upgraded withdrawing room. The bourne

was introduced in Europe around 1850 and represented the very latest in machine

manufacture and design. It was a form probably seen by the Aikens during their voyage,

and this example may have been shipped to Charleston from Europe . 107 Another new

form that was brought into the house during this time was the demi-lune banquette

1 0 6 Denys Peter Myers, Gas Lighting in America: A Guide for Historic Preservation (Washington: Technical Preservation Services Division, 1978) 249, as cited in Orlando Ridout, Aiken-Rhett House Summary History, Draft Document, 15 November 24, 13.

1 0 7 Joseph Anderson, The Encyclopedia o f Furniture (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1965), 448-449.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (Catalogue number 41). Two banquettes could either be pushed together to form a

circular ottoman or pushed against the wall to form two settees.

Whereas the Aikens spent considerable money in the 1830s and early 1840s on

filling their home with furniture, silver, and decorative objects, the 1850s saw

substantially less expended on furniture, and more on elements designed to update

appearances and introduce the most modern improvements. Because such a large amount

of circa 1838 en suite furniture survives today, it appears that these pieces stayed in use

throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. As the Aikens’ interests turned to the

acquisition of fine art objects, their interest in the purchase of furniture waned and the

few pieces that they did collect were for use in the withdrawing room or the art gallery.

The enhancement of the entertaining rooms suggests that for this new phase in their lives,

the Aikens anticipated spending more time in their Charleston home. Likewise, these

improvements, and the upgraded withdrawing room implies that their types of

entertaining were about to become more formal and grandiose.

The Art Gallery

By far, the most important element of the 1858 renovation was the addition of the

private art gallery onto the northwest corner of the house. Joseph Aiken, William’s first

cousin, is believed to have been the architect. Although not an architect by trade, Joseph

traveled widely and his descriptive 1849 travel diary details his visits to art galleries

throughout Europe. 1 0 8 He was also an accomplished artist and decorated his home,

108 Joseph Aiken • travel diary, South Carolina Historical Society

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. located on Charlotte and Alexander streets a few blocks from his cousin, with his own oil

paintings and sculptural busts.109

The art gallery was a direct reflection of the premier public and private galleries

the Aikens visited in Europe. Its presence is a statement of their connoisseurship, wealth

and cultural sophistication. It is octagonal in shape, with three corner sculptural niches

and a rectangular, glass skylight (Figures 32 and 33). Four windows allowed for

additional light and a fireplace on the east wall provided warmth. By placing the gallery

on the northwest corner, formal entry was gained off the left side of the front stair hall, a

pathway that was previously reserved for close friends or family members. A side door

was also installed, allowing entry from the back stairs located in the back lot, a feature

which permitted the gallery to function as a completely separate entity. Several of the

design characteristics suggest that it may have been modeled on two components of the

Uffizi Gallery in Florence: the Tribune and the Miniature room . 110 Although a visit to the

Uffizi is not mentioned in Harriet’s travel diary, it seems inconceivable that the Aikens

spent six weeks in Florence without visiting the galleries.

The Tribune gallery was designed in the Uffizi in 1584 in order to hold and

display the Grand Duke’s most significant and unusual works of art. Its design and

contents were so well regarded that in 1772 the queen of England commissioned Johann

1 09 Robert Bentham Simons, Thomas Grange Simons III, His Forehearers and Relations (Charleston: Privately Printed, 1954), 108.

1 1 0 The author thanks Jill Koverman, Collections Manager for Historic Charleston Foundation, for sharing her hypothesis that the Aiken art gallery was modeled after the Tribune in the Uffizi.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Zoffany to paint an interior view (Figure 34). The painting depicts a scene that may have

resembled the gallery as the Aikens saw it, with sculptural figures surrounded by

paintings by Raphael, Pontormo, Andrea del Sarto and Michelangelo. Located in the

center of the room was a circular table made about 1680, with an inlaid top of precious

stones. Above the octagonal walls and the colorful mosaic floor is the large, soaring

cupola, surrounded at its base by windows.

Many components of the Aikens’ art gallery closely resemble key elements of the

Tribune, including the octagonal shape and its purpose as a repository for valuable

treasures. The mosaic table purchased in Florence is also suggestive, in concept, of the

Tribune’s inlaid table and may have been acquired to evoke this connection. The

Miniature room may have also influenced one important detail that the Aikens chose to

incorporate in their design. The rectangular, glass skylight that rises above the ceiling is

remarkably similar to the glass skylight in the Aiken’s gallery (Figure 35).

During the nineteenth century, a few other wealthy Americans were building

private art galleries. Among them were two New Yorkers, William Henry Aspinwall and

August Belmont. Aspinwall’s gallery, completed by January 1859, was composed of two

rooms with a separate street entry allowing for the admission of public visitors several

days a week. One gallery displayed 85 pictures hung in densely packed rows and

featured works by European masters, as well as a few paintings by New York artists.

Belmont’s gallery displayed works only by living European artists, but like Aspinwall’s,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. it was also opened to the public several days a week . 111 In contrast, it does not appear

that the Aikens ever intended to publicly open their gallery as it was not built with a

separate street entry . 112

The collection of art was by no means a new concept in Charleston, and

throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many South Carolinians purchased art

objects while on the Grand Tour. Favorite genres included Old Master paintings and

reproductions. For the most part, the Aikens purchased reproductions of famous Italian

paintings, several of which hung in the galleries of the Pitti Palace or the Uffizi in

Florence. Their sculpture collection differed in that it was composed mainly of works by

contemporary artists. This distinction signifies that on one hand the Aikens were creating

an artistic history for themselves through the paintings, while simultaneously

acknowledging their awareness of current creative movements and artists through their

sculpture collection. In their entirety, these works were emblematic of the Aikens’

wealth, education and world travel.

The Aikens’ collection is also distinctive for the wholesale manner in which they

chose to collect. While some works of art were probably purchased on the 1848 tour, it

appears that most pieces were bought later. It would, however, be a mistake to assume

111 John K. Flowat, “Private Collectors and Public Spirit: A Selective View”, inArt and the Empire City, 104-105.

1 12 The Charleston Courier and the Charleston Mercury do not contain any announcements or advertisements indicating that the gallery was ever opened to the public in the capacity in which the Aspinwall and Belmont galleries were. On May 25, 1883, Joseph Aiken noted in his diary that he “visited the art gallery and house,” indicating that friends did come for the purpose of visiting and studying the art objects. Joseph D. Aiken diary, 1856-1912, South Carolina Historical Society.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that in the 1850s the Aikens were suddenly consumed with the desire to collect. The

interest had been in place for some time, but their priorities lay elsewhere during the

1840s. William was heavily involved in local politics from 1838-1846, which left little

time for collecting trips. With the advent of his retirement a gap was left to fill and art

seems to have been their next pursuit.

In addition to collecting art, William Aiken put his connoisseurship and acumen

to use as one of the officers of the newly founded Carolina Art Association. 113 The

Association’s first exhibit was mounted in 1858. The next exhibit, held in 1859, included

some 255 works of art, 10 of which were loaned from the Aiken collection. 1 1 4 Included

were several of the works purchased in Italy: First Grief, a copy of Canova’sVenus, A

Female in an Attitude o f Prayer, Magdalene after Carlo Dolce, a copy of Raphael

Sanzio’s Madonna della Sedia, St. Catherine with the Wheel and Palm Branch, Madonna

and Child, a copy of Andrea del Sarto’s Madonna in the Pitti Palace at Florence, Hiram

Powers’ Bust o f Proserpine, and Morani’s The Virgin Mary with the Child and St.

Elizabeth with St. John the Baptist in a Landscape, 1 1 5 Both Aiken’s willingness to lend

much of their collection and his reputation as an art connoisseur may have ensured his

position as a vice-president of the Association through 1860, along with other

tastemakers such as his cousin Joseph Aiken, Governor Allston, and Joseph Manigault.

113 * * Sallie Doscher, “Art Exhibitions in Nineteenth-Century Charleston,” in Art in the Lives o f South Carolinians (Charleston: Carolina Art Association, 1979), SD-11 - SD-12.

1 1 4 Ibid.

1 15 Carolina Art Association Catalogue, 1859, Gibbes Museum of Art.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Another reason for Aiken’s generosity in lending so many objects is that he may have

been awaiting the completion of his art gallery and the exhibition provided both

temporary storage and a means of showcasing his aesthetic sophistication.

In addition to the sculptures, religious imagery and landscape paintings, the

gallery was also home to an important painting by the local artist George Whiting Flagg.

The life-size portrait of Harriet Lowndes Aiken (Catalogue number 111) was the magnum

opus of the art gallery, a status conferred by the painting’s sheer size and presence. The

portrait and frame, measuring just over ten feet tall and seven feet wide, originally hung

on the south wall. 1 1 6 For an 1858 visitor to the newly completed art gallery, the life-size

portrait of Harriet Lowndes Aiken echoed the message already imparted by the sheer

scale and striking interiors of the Aiken home, namely that its occupants were wealthy,

powerful, highly educated, and schooled in the ways of European thought and culture.

Her portrait places her in the milieu of a grand house with a marble railing and classical

urn visible through an open doorway. She is painted wearing a yellow silk dress and

standing next to a rococo revival chair, revealing not only a great sense of self worth, but

an appreciation for and a desire to be remembered by fashionable furnishings and within

grand settings. Her artistic setting is magnified by the painting’s physical placement, in a

European style art gallery surrounded by works of art, numerous pieces of sculpture and

1 1 6 A memo in the Charleston Museum files notes that metal brackets to support the portrait are embedded in the north wall of the gallery. The portrait was moved to its present location in the east drawing rooms by 1918. See Graham, Lounsbury and Ridout, 53.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. fine examples of European furniture, objects that all communicated the cultural and

intellectual superiority of Harriet Aiken and her husband.

Instead of having her image recorded amongst the ruins of Rome like Mr. and

Mrs. Ralph Izard or overlooking the Ponte Vecchio in Florence like Allen Smith, Harriet

waited to be painted until returning home to Charleston . 117 As the nephew and student of

Washington Allston, George Whiting Flagg studied in Europe for three years in the 1830s

and spent several years in Charleston in the 1850s.118 In May 1859 he sold his collection

of historical and genre paintings in anticipation of his departure from Charleston. The

newspaper article describing Flagg’s collection praised his talents, claiming “Mr. Flagg is

an artist of vigorous imagination and conscientious training.. ..a large portion of his

student life was spent in the noted centres of European art, and with every opportunity of

perfecting his natural skill which the continental studios and galleries of painting have

afforded him . ” 119

Flagg’s European training and technique undoubtedly appealed to Harriet, and

sometime between her return home in December of 1858 and his departure from

Charleston in May of 1859, she had him paint her full-size portrait along with a smaller

117 • Portraits ofMr. and Mrs. Ralph Izard and Allen Smith Seated Above the Arno, Contemplating Florence may be seen in In Pursuit o f Refinement: Charlestonians Abroad, 116, 135.

118 Regma • Soria, Dictionary o f Nineteenth-Century American Artists in Italy, 1760-1914 (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1982) 138; Anna Wells Rutledge, Artists in the Lives o f Charleston (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1949) 168.

119 Charleston Courier 4 May 1859, as cited in Anna Wells Rutledge, Artists in the Lives o f Charleston, 168.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. bust length portrait (Catalogue number 112). The two images were clearly painted at the

same time because her hair is styled identically and her face is painted with the same far-

off expression. The smaller image may have hung in another room of the house, or at

Jehossee, alongside the portrait of William Aiken (Catalogue number 113) that was

probably painted around this same time.

In the style of the mid-nineteenth, the paintings in the art gallery probably hung in

close proximity to one another. The arrangement, however, may not have been as

crowded as in some galleries. While in Naples Harriet noted her objection to packed

spaces: the “Baiae (was) very beautiful but too many objects crowded together making it

a great fatigue . ” 1 2 0 Period illustrations depict a number of different methods for hanging

pictures. A wood engraving of Aspinwall’s gallery showed no visible wires on the wall,

suggesting that the wire was attached to the back of each frame and then suspended by a

nail or hook (Figure 36).121 Another image depicting theEmpress M arie’s Salon in the

Winter Palace, 1850s - 1860s shows the paintings suspended by a long wire from a nail

mounted in the cornice (Figure 37 ) . 1 2 2 Because the Aiken gallery was probably fairly

crowded, falling somewhere in between Aspinwall’s densely packed gallery and private

1 2 0 Harriet Aiken travel diary

121 • The East End o f Aspinwall’s Principal Gallery. Wood Engraving fromHarper’s Weekly, February 26, 1859, pp. 132-134, as cited in John K. Howat, “Private Collectors and Public Spirit: A Selective View”, in Art and the Empire City, 105.

1 2 2 Charlotte Gere, Nineteenth-Century Decoration, The Art o f the Interior (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989), 238.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. homes with only one or two paintings on a single wall, the frames were likely hung from

wire and nails behind the pictures. 123

In addition to fulfdling its role as a repository for fine art, the gallery also

functioned as a narrative of the Aikens’ physical journeys through Europe and their

cultural and intellectual voyage through life. The assemblage of art housed in the gallery

and the accumulated books in the library also served as an important parallel to

Charleston’s intellectual development. Just as the Aikens increased and expanded their

intellectual holdings, Charleston, by 1850 and 1860, offered its citizens more specialized

and varied cultural establishments, such as the Carolina Art Association, in which to

participate. 1 2 4 The art gallery also offers a compelling parallel to a bleaker aspect of life

in the Lowcountry. The beautiful and expensive artistic creations housed within this

room provide a powerful juxtaposition to the back lot and slave quarters visible through

the windows of the gallery. The gallery figuratively and physically straddled both the

repressive system that supported its very structure and the busy, bustling streets of

Charleston, which marched on optimistically, despite the ominous forecast of war.

123 Tack marks on the floorboards which • run the along the perimeter reveal that the room was decorated with wall-to-wall carpeting. A ghost mark from the base of Mary Magdalene, and tack marks around the perimeter of the base, indicate that the statue was placed in the gallery before the carpet.

12 4 David Moltke-Hansen, “The Expansion of Intellectual life: A Prospectus”, in Intellectual Life in Antebellum Charleston, 40-41.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Conclusion

In designing and furnishing their home, William and Harriet Aiken consciously

created distinctive interiors that displayed the aesthetic language of luxury, beauty and

intelligent design. As manifestations of their intellectual and artistic pursuits, the

entertaining spaces help to reveal the Aikens’ pattern of collecting over the course of 30

years. Stylistic qualities of furniture and silver date marks help determine that in the mid

- late 1830s the Aikens displayed consumer habits comparable to other wealthy and

newly married Americans. They essentially furnished the entire house with newly

acquired goods, including fashionable suites of New York furniture, French porcelain and

fine textiles. They also bought, or were given as wedding presents, silver flatware and

copious amounts of English and American silver serving and display pieces. The paucity

of surviving objects dating to the late 1840s and 1850s implies that the Aikens continued

to use their original purchases while occasionally enhancing rooms with new

acquisitions.

As a backdrop to the furnishings the rich wall colors, window treatments and

architectural details coalesced into a symphony of texture and color, creating a vibrant

and sensual interior. Period writings detail the effect that these highly constructed spaces

had upon visiting guests and reveal that grand entertainment of the most beautiful kind

took place within their walls. In addition to their aesthetic qualities, the Aiken interiors

display a subtle blending of American and European influences. The European style

architecture, decorative elements, and works of art alluded to the Aikens’ familiarity with

the fashionably Greek revival, while their consumption of New York furniture within a

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. local market is illustrative of Charleston’s continued ties with and admiration of New

York City.

Although they shared similar tastes with other Charlestonians in terms of

furnishings and art, the Aikens were singular among their peers by virtue of their art

gallery. Through the creation of this room, the Aikens left an indelible reminder of their

pursuits, their personalities and their lives. Just as enduring and equally as revealing is

the family crest engraved upon the silver. At the time of their creation both the gallery

and heraldry were powerful visual reminders of the Aikens’ wealth, refinement,

education and social prominence. Today those same messages are mingled with the

metaphor of the once grand house, now tattered in its appearance and devoid of

occupants. The study of the Aikens and their domestic interior spaces remind us of the

complexities of human lives, and allow for a better understanding of how one family both

contributed to and was reflective of antebellum life in Charleston, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 1. Location of Aiken House on Bird's Eye View of the City of Charleston, South Carolina, 1872. Drawn and published by C. Drie. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 2. View of Aiken House, west and south sides, Historic American Buildings Survey (hereafter, HABS). Louis I. Schwartz, Photographer August, 1963. HABS, SC, 10-CHAR, 177-2. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1

Figure 3. Photograph of rear side of house with outbuildings: service building and stable (SC-275) on right, and slave buildings and kitchen (SC-276) on left. HABS, SC,10- CHAR, 177-7. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 4. Aiken coat of arms. Photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • • • • • •

FIRST-FLOOR PLAN

JOHN ROBINSON HOUSE 10 JUDITH STREET CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA Note: East room inaccessible when building was recorded and its interior arrangement is conjectural.

MEASURED BY ORLANDO RlOOUT V, W ltU E GRAHAM AND CARL LOUNSBURY, 21 MARCH 2003. DRAWN BY W IIUE GRAHAM.

Figure 5. First floor plan of John Robinson House, 1820-1833. Reprinted from Willie Graham, Carl Lounsbury and Orlando Ridout, “Architectural Investigations of the Aiken- Rhett House”.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. i A _ ..c . . / - n

Figure 6 . First floor plan of Aiken house, post-1833. HABS. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 7. Silver-plated door hardware. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 8 a. Double door case, west drawing room looking into east drawing room. HABS, SC, 10-CHAR, 177-29. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 8b. Typical door case. HABS, SC, 10-CHAR, 177-34. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a is iiB p iM i

Figure 9. Double and single door cases from Asher Benjamin, Practice o f Architecture, 1833, plate 40. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 10. Entry hall of Aiken House. HABS, SC,10-CHAR,177-22. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 11. Photograph of the vestibule at Chariottenhof. Reprinted fromKarl Friedrich Schinkel: A Universal Man, ed. Michael Snodin, 77.

Figure 12. Staircase from Rudolph Ackermann, Designs for Architects, Upholsterers, Cabinet-Makers & c. Forming a Series o f Plans and Sections for Apartments, etc. (London: R. Ackermann, 1801), p. 5, plate III. Courtesy of Winterthur Museum Libraries, Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 13a. Piazza, looking west. Courtesy of Flistoric Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Figure 13b. Piazza looking northeast into dining room. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 14. Floor plan of double drawing rooms. HABS. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 15. Double drawing rooms, looking from east room into west room. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation, photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 16a. Fireplace mantel in east drawing room. Tiles are not original and are not present on east room fireplace. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Figure 16b. Detail of mantels. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 17a. Duncan Phyfe and Son, Couch, 1841; rosewood veneer, rosewood, mahogany, sugar pine, ash, poplar, rosewood graining. Collection of Richard Hampton Jenrette. Reprinted from Art and the Empire City, ed. Catherine Hoover Voorsanger and John K. Howat, 521.

Figure 17b. Duncan Phyfe and Son, Armchair, 1841; mahogany, mahogany veneer, chestnut. Collection of Richard Hampton Jenrette. Reprinted fromArt and the Empire City, ed. Catherine Hoover Voorsanger and John K. Howat, 520.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ■I. s#(jf

Figure 18. Window treatment from James Arrowsmith, An Analysis o f Drapery: or The Upholsterer’s Assistant, Illustrated with Twenty Plates to Which is Annexed a Table, Showing the Proportions for Cutting One Hundred and Thirty Various Sized Festoons, 1819, Plate 20. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 19. Window treatment from Thomas King, The Upholsterer’s Accelerator: Being Rules for Cutting and Forming Draperies, Valences, & c. Accompanied by Appropriate Remarks, 1833, Plate 8. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

Figure 20. Window treatment from Thomas King, The Upholsterer’s Accelerator, 1833, Plate 11. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 21. Floor plan of dining room. HABS. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 22. Photograph of dining room. Louis I. Schwartz, Photographer; July, 1958. HABS, SC, 10-CHAR, 177-4. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 23. Floor plan of family parlor/withdrawing room. HABS. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 24. Photograph of east wall of family parlor/withdrawing room. HABS, SC, 10-CHAR, 177-46. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ■ / ■/.? ? 'V*

Figure 25. Copy of plan of first floor sent to William Aiken in Paris, 1858. Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 26. Copy of plan of art gallery sent to William Aiken in Paris, 1858. Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 27. 1858 wallpaper panels in double drawing rooms, with close-up of border. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 28. “Turkish No. 1”, from Owen Jones, The Grammar o f Ornament, Plate XXXVI. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

mm i

Figure 29. “Byzantine No. 2”, from Owen Jones,The Grammar o f Ornament, Plate XXIX. Courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Printed Book and Periodical Collection.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 30. 1918 view of west parlor. Photograph courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 31. 1918 view from west parlor into east parlor. Photograph courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. \\wi

Figure 32. Realized floor plan of art gallery. HABS. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Figure 33. View of art gallery looking toward north wall. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 34. Interior view of the Tribune gallery. Johann Zoffany, Tribuna della Uffizi, 1772-1778. Courtesy of the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Notice the center table.

Figure 35. Art gallery skylight. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 36. The East End of Aspinwall’s Principal Gallery. Wood Engraving from Harper’s Weekly, February 26, 1859, pp. 132-134. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library. Reprinted from Art and the Empire City, ed. Catherine Hoover Voorsanger and John K. Howat, 105.

Figure 37. Edward Hau, Empress Marie’s salon in the Winter Palace. Reprinted from Charlotte Gere, Nineteenth-Century Decoration: The Art o f the Interior, 238.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

Manuscripts

South Carolina Historical Society: Joseph Aiken papers

South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina: James Henry Hammond Collection, William Aiken papers

Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Manigault Family papers, James Henry Hammond papers, Singleton papers

The Charleston Museum: Aiken-Rhett papers

Historic Charleston Foundation, Aiken-Rhett papers

Winterthur Museum Libraries, Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection

Charleston County Library, Microfilm Collection

Gibbes Museum of Art: Carolina Art Association catalogues

New York Passenger and Immigrations Lists

Federal Census Indexes

Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress

Newspapers:

The News and Courier Charleston Mercury The New York Times

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Benjamin, Asher. Practice of Architecture: Containing the five orders of architecture and an additional column and entablature, with all their elements and details explained and illustrated. For the use of carpenters and practical men. Boston: by the author and Carter, Hendee & Co., 1833.

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______“Jehossee Island: The Antebellum South’s Largest Rice Plantation” Agricultural History 59:1 (Jan. 1985), 56-65.

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Manoguerra, Paul A. Classic Ground: Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Painting and the Italian Encounter. Athens: Georgia Museum of Art, 2004.

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______and Robert A. Leath. “Beautiful Specimens, Elegant Patterns: New York Furniture for the Charleston Market, 1810-1840.” American Furniture (1999), ed. Luke Beckerdite, 137-174. Hanover, New Hampshire: Chipstone Foundation, 1999.

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Moltke-Hansen, David, ed. Art in the Lives of South Carolinians. Charleston: Carolina Art Association, 1979.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Myers, Denys Peter. Gas Lighting in America: A Guide for Historic Preservation. Washington: Technical Preservation Services Division, 1978.

New York State Silversmiths. Eggertsville, NY: Darling foundation, 1964.

Newman, Harry Wright. Heraldic Marylandia. Washington, D.C.: by the author, 1968.

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O’Brien, Michael, and David Moltke-Hansen, eds. Intellectual Life in Antebellum Charleston. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986.

Palmer, Arlene. A Guide to Victoria Mansion. Portland: Victoria Mansion, 1997.

Payne, Christopher. 19th Century European Furniture. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1985.

Pease, Jane H and William H. Ladies, Women, and Wenches: Choice and Constraint in Antebellum Charleston. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

______The Web o f Progress: Private Values and Public Styles in Boston and Charleston, 1828-1843. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell. American Negro Slavery (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1928.

Pickford, Ian, ed. Jackson’s Silver and Gold Marks o f England, Scotland and Ireland. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collector’s Club, 1989.

Poesch, Jessie. The Art o f the Old South: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture & the Products o f Craftsmen, 1560-1860. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

Poston, Jonathan H.The Buildings o f Charleston: A Guide to the City’s Architecture. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997.

Rothery, Guy Cadogan. Concise Encyclopedia o f Heraldry. London: Bracken Books, 1985.

Rutledge, Anna Wells. Artists in the Lives o f Charleston. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1949.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Saint-Mery, Moreau de. Moreau de Saint-Mery’s American Journey, 1793-1798, Translated and edited by Kenneth Roberts and Anna M. Roberts. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1947.

Simons, Robert Bentham. Thomas Grange Simons III, His Forebearers and Relations. Charleston: Privately Printed, 1954.

Smith, George. A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in the Most Approved and Elegant Taste. London: J. Taylor, 1808.

Smith, Thomas Gordon.John Hall and the Grecian Style in America: A Reprint of Three Pattern Books Published in 1840[The Cabinetmakers’ Assistant, A Series of Select and Original Modern Designs for Dwelling Houses, and A New and Concise Method o f Hand-Railing]. New York: Acanthus Press, 1996.

______“Living With Antiques: Milford Plantation,” The Magazine Antiques, vol. 151 (May 1997), 732-741.

Snodin, Michael, ed. Karl Friedrich Schinkel: A Universal Man. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.

Soria, Regina. Dictionary o f Nineteenth-Century American Artists in Italy, 1760-1914. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1982.

Talbott, Page. Classical Savannah: Fine and Decorative Arts, 1800-1840. Savannah: Telfair Museum of Art, 1995.

Thornton, Peter.Authentic Decor: The Domestic Interior, 1620-1920. New York: Viking, 1984.

Vlach, John Michael. “The Plantation Tradition in an Urban Setting: The Case of the Aiken-Rhett House in Charleston, South Carolina.”Southern Cultures 5, no. 4 (1999): 52-69.

Voorsanger, Catherine Hoover and John K. Howat, eds.Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.

Wilson, Clyde N. ed. The Papers o f John C. Calhoun, Vol. XXXIV, 1846-1847. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.

Winkler, Gail Caskey and Roger W. Moss. Victorian Interior Decoration: American Interiors, 1830-1900. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson.The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Wunder, Richard P . Hiram Powers: Vermont Sculptor, 1805-1873, Volume II, Catalogue o f Works. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1991

Zierden, Martha, Jeanne Calhoun and Debi Hacker. “Outside of Town: Preliminary Investigation of the Aiken-Rhett House”. The Charleston Museum, Archaeological Contributions 11. Charleston, SC, 1986.

Zierden, Martha. “Aiken-Rhett House: Archaeological Research.” The Charleston Museum, Archaeological Contributions 31, Charleston, SC, 2003.

Unpublished Sources

Buck, Susan Louise. “The Aiken-Rhett House: A Comparative Architectural Paint Study.” Ph.D. diss., The University of Delaware, 2003.

Graham, Willie, Carl Lounsbury and Orlando Ridout, “Architectural Investigations of the Aiken-Rhett House”

Mclnnis, Maurie D. “The Politics of Taste: Classicism in Charleston, South Carolina, 1815-1840.” Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1996.

Ridout, Orlando. “Aiken-Rhett House Summary History,” Draft Document, 15 November 24, 2004

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX A: CATALOGUE OF AIKEN FURNISHINGS

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 1.

Pair cups, London, one stamped with date marks 1799-1800, other stamped with marks for 1801-1802; otherwise identical. Silver with gold wash interior; both engraved on side with Lowndes crest over initials “HL” (probably for Harriet Lowndes). Both stamped on underside with makers mark “IR” for either John Robbins or John Robert. Height 4-1/8 inches, diameter top 3-5/16 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 2.

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Tray, London, 1820-1821 Silver; engraved in center with initials “WHA,” for William and Harriet Aiken. Stamped on underside with maker’s mark “CF”, probably for Crispin Fuller. Height 2-3/4 inches, diameter 16-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 3.

Teapot, London, 1820-1821 Silver; engraved on side within cartouche are initials “WHA”. Stamped on underside with maker’s mark “CP” - silversmith unknown. Handle missing. Height 6, length overall 21 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 4.

Butter dish, London, 1835-1836 Silver; side of bowl engraved with Aiken coat of arms and motto, saucer engraved with Aiken crest and initials “WHA”. Stamped on underside with maker’s mark “IF,” probably for John Figg. Height overall 5-1/8, diameter of saucer 7-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 5.

Wine cooler, probably part of a pair, London, 1835-1836 Silver; engraved on side with Aiken coat of arms; stamped on exterior of body with maker’s mark “CF” for Charles Fox. Removable rim, liner missing. Height overall 12-1/4, width from handle to handle 9, diameter base 5-1/2 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 6.

Tray, London, 1834-1835 Silver; engraved in center with Aiken coat of arms; stamped on underside with maker’s mark “WB” for William Brown. Height 2-3/8, diameter 23-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 7.

■■

Tray, Philadelphia, 1810-1835 Silver; engraved on underside with initials “WHA”. Stamped on underside with maker’s mark “Thibault &/Brothers”. They worked in Philadelphia at 66 South Second Street from 1810-1835. Height 2-1/4, length from handle to handle 17-3/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

101

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 8.

Spoons, part of larger flatware set, London, 1835-1836 Silver; salt spoon silver with gold washed bowl, modified King’s pattern; engraved on back of handle with Aiken coat of arms, over initials “WHA”; stamped on back of handle with maker’s mark “WT” for William Theobalds. Length gravy ladle 8; length teaspoon 5-5/8; length salt spoon 4-1/2 inches. (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

102

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 9.

Pair candlesticks, American, 1820-1850 Silver, no visible marks Height overall 13, diameter base 6 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

103

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 10.

Pair pitchers, New York, circa 1835 Silver; engraved with Aiken crest; stamped on underside “B Gardiner New York” Height from handle 13-1/2, height to lip 11-3/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

104

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 11.

Entree dish, London, 1834-1835 Silver; engraved twice on either side interior walls engraved with Aiken crest over initials “WHA”; engraved on exterior body with maker’s mark “WKR” for William Ker Reid. Height 2, length 14, width 10-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 12.

Entree cover, London, 1834-1835 Silver, engraved on side with Aiken coat of arms; Stamped on body with maker’s mark “WKR” for William Ker Reid. Length 11-1/8, width 8-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

105

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 13.

Pair fish servers, New York, 1850 Silver, fish slice engraved with pastoral scene on one side and image of bird in flight on other; both engraved on handles with initials “IR”. Both marked “WG&S, 1850, patented 1847,” Made by William Gale and Sons. Length slice 13-1/2; length fork 10-1/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

106

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 14.

Meat stand with cover, probably English, circa 1835-1840 Silver on copper; engraved on side of cover with Aiken crest Height cover 3-1/2, length handle to handle 15, width 10 inches; height stand 8, length 11-1/2, width 8-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

107

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 15.

Meat cover, probably English, circa 1835-1840 Silver on nickel; engraved on side with Aiken crest Height to handle 10-1/2, length 15-3/4, width 11-9/16 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 16.

Meat cover, probably English, circa 1835-1840 Silver on nickel; engraved on side with Aiken crest Height to handle 10-1/2, length 15-3/4, width 11-9/16 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

108

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 17.

Wine cooler, probably English, circa 1840-1850 Silver on copper Height 10-1/2, diameter top 11, diameter base 5-1/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

109

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 18.

HELOISE BOUDO Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, 1827-1837 Gold Stamped on underside “H. BOUDO/CHARLESTON” Engraved opposite handle with Aiken coat of arms and motto Height to handle 5-3/16, height to rim 4-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 19.

HELOISE BOUDO Spoon, Charleston, South Carolina, 1827-1837 Gold Stamped on back of handle “H BOUDO” Handle engraved with Aiken coat of arms Length 7-3/16 inches (Private Collection; photograph by author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 20.

VACHERON AND CONSTANTIN Watch case, Geneva, Switzerland, mid 19th century Gold Front engraved with initials “WA” within cartouche; back engraved “Vacheron & Constantin/in Geneva/Hands N. 88148/Detached Lever/Thirteen Jewels” Height overall 2-1/8, diameter 1-5/16 inches (Private Collection; photograph by author)

112

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 21.

Seal, possibly English, circa 1840-1860 Gold and agate Marked 14k, “ML”, on ring that attaches fob to seal Width overall 2 inches (Private Collection; photograph by author)

113

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 22.

Plaque, American or English Brass; engraved “Wm. Aiken”

114

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 23.

FLIGHT BARR AND BARR Set of dinnerware, England, 1813-1819 Porcelain, polychrome overglaze decoration, gilding Set includes, but is not limited to: dinner plates, platters, small tureens, soup plates, square bowls, round serving bowls, and covered serving bowls.

115

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 24.

Vase, France, circa 1830 Porcelain, gilt decoration; with mask head handle mounts Height 15-1/5, width base 5-1/4 inches Has been electrified (Private Collection; Photograph by author)

Catalogue number 25.

Vase, France, circa 1830 Porcelain, gilt decoration; with mask head handle mounts (Private Collection)

116

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 26.

Pair vases, France, circa 1830 Porcelain, with overglaze enamel and gilt decoration depicting figures in landscape setting, mask head handle mounts Courtesy of Flistoric Charleston Foundation; photograph by author)

Catalogue number 27.

Vase, France, circa 1830 Porcelain, gilt decoration (Private Collection)

117

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 28.

Pair settees, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, cane Height 34, length 74-1/2, depth 29 inches (Image on top Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation, settee in center image from Private Collection; photographs by the author)

118

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 29.

Settee, likely one of a pair, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, cane Height 35-1/2, length 83-1/2, depth 24-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 30.

Recamier, possibly New York, circa 1838 Image taken from HABS photograph SC, 10-CHAR, 177-66, Courtesy Library of Congress; object now believed to be in Private Collection

119

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 31.

Settee, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, white pine Height 34, length 78, depth 23 inches Carved on back of crest rail “W Aiken” (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

120

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 32.

Pair of sofas with four matching ottomans, possibly New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer Height of sofas 25-1/2, length 80, depth 29-1/2 inches; height ottomans 16-1/4, length 36- 1/4, width 16-1/4 inches One sofa and three ottomans owned by Historic Charleston Foundation, one sofa and ottoman in Private Collection. (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

121

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 33

Settee, probably New York, 1840-1850 Mahogany veneer Height 31-1/2, length 41-3/4, depth overall 21-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

122

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 34.

One of a set of four arm chairs, probably New York, circa 1838 Rosewood and ash Height 38, width 26-1/2, depth 21-1/2 inches Brass caster stamped “Thorp” (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

123

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 35.

Arm chair, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany or rosewood, cane Dimensions not available (Private Collection)

124

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 36.

Pair side chairs, American, 1840-1850 Mahogany, mahogany veneer Height 35, width 18, depth 18-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

125

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 37.

Arm chair, part of a pair, probably New York, circa 1838 Rosewood or mahogany Height 43-1/2, width 25-3/4, depth 32 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

126

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 38.

Arm chair, probably New York, circa 1840 Rosewood or mahogany veneer Height 47-5/8, width 29, depth 28 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

127

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 39.

P J. HARDY “Oriental Folding Chair”, New York, circa 1863 Ebonized walnut, iron supports Impressed on iron support “P.J. Hardy, N.Y/Pat Dec 22 63” Height 31-3/4, 20-3/4, depth 21-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

128

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 40.

Borne, probably European, 1850-1880 Materials unknown Height 38, diameter 57-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

129

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 41.

Pair demilune banquettes, European or American, circa 1855 Mahogany veneer, pine Height 42, width 72, depth of each 35 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

130

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 42.

HEYWOOD-WAKEFIELD Co. Armchair, Massachusetts, 1897-1930 Reed, rattan, wood, cane Labeled on back crest rail “Heywood-Wakefield” Height 38-1/4, width 37-1/2, depth 18-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

131

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 43.

HEYWOOD-WAKEFIELD Co. Corner chair, Massachusetts, 1897-1930 Reed, rattan, wood, cane Labeled on back crest rail “Heywood-Wakefield” Height 26-1/2, width 31, depth 33 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

132

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 44.

DEMING AND BULKLEY, attributed Card table, New York, circa 1825 Mahogany veneer, white pine, tulip poplar Height 29-1/2, width 18-3/4, length top 37-1/2 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

133

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 45.

Card table, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, white pine Height 29, width 35-3/4, depth 17-7/8 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 46.

Card table, probably New York, circa 1830 Mahogany, mahogany veneer Height 29-1/8, width 35-1/2, length top open 36 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

134

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 47.

Card table, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, white pine, poplar Height 30-1/2 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

135

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 48.

Work table, probably New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, white pine, poplar Height 25-5/8, width top 23-1/4, depth top 15-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

136

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 49.

Work table, possibly New York, circa 1840 Mahogany veneer, white pine, tulip poplar Height 29-3/4, length top 41-3/8, depth 18 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 50.

Work table, possibly New York, circa 1840 Mahogany veneer, white pine, tulip poplar Height 28, length top 32-1/4, depth 16-7/8 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

137

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 51.

Table, probably New York, circa 1835 Mahogany and mahogany veneer Height 32, length top 44, width top 35-5/16 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 52.

Center table with marble top, New York, possibly from shop of Deming and Bulkley, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, marble Height overall 26-5/16, diameter top 33-3/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

138

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 53.

Pier table, New York, circa 1838 Mahogany veneer, white pine, brass, marble Height overall 37-7/8, length overall 45-1/8, width base 17-3/4 inches (Private Collection, photograph by the author)

139

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 54.

Pier table, probably New York, circa 1838. Mahogany, mahogany veneer Height overall 36-1/8; length overall 41-11/16, width 18-7/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

140

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 55.

Corner table, American, 1840-1850 Mahogany veneer Height overall 30-1/2, length top 28 inches (Private Collection, photograph by the author)

141

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 56.

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Boulle-work table, France, first quarter 19th century Ebony, brass, tortoise shell Fleight 29-1/4, width 49-5/8, depth 30-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

142

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 57.

Table, Florence, Italy, circa 1858 Olive wood, mosaic stones Height approximately 32, diameter top approximately 24 inches Label on underside reads “Baebetti / Atelier de Sculture / Florence / Place S. Croce No. 7695”. (Private collection)

143

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 58.

Dining table, New York, possibly from shop of Deming and Bulkley, circa 1838 Mahogany, mahogany veneer Length 129-1/2, width 56, height 28 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

144

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 59.

DEMING AND BULKLEY, attributed Pair sideboards and matching cellarets, New York, circa 1838 Sideboards: Mahogany veneer, white pine, alabaster, black marble Cellarets: Mahogany and mahogany veneer Height overall sideboards 49-3/4, height to marble top 41, length 73-1/2 inches, depth 25; height cellarets 24-1/2, length 21-1/4 inches (Image at top courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation, image at bottom from Private Collection; photographs by the author)

145

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 60.

Sideboard, mid-Atlantic region, circa 1835-1845 Mahogany veneer, white pine, poplar Height 40-3/4, length 72-5/8, depth 27-6/8 inches (Private Collection; photographs by the author)

146

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 61.

Sideboard, mid-Atlantic region, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, poplar, pine Height overall 59-7/8, width 63, depth 23-1/2 inches Believed to have been used at the Aikens’ plantation, Jehosee (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 62.

Sideboard, mid-Atlantic region, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, white pine, poplar Height overall 48, width 55-3/4, depth 22-1/8 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

147

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 63.

Plate holder, possibly New York, circa 1840 Mahogany veneer, marble Height overall 30-5/8, diameter top 18 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 64.

Sleigh bed, probably New York, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, secondary wood unknown Height 41-1/2, length 84, width 62-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

149

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 65.

Sleigh bed, probably New York, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, secondary wood unknown Height 44-7/16, length 83-1/4, width 70-3/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

150

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 66.

Clothes press, New York, circa 1835 Mahogany, mahogany veneer Height 87-3/4, width 66-1/8, depth 26-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

151

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 67.

Wash stand, New York, circa 1835 Mahogany, mahogany veneer, marble Height overall 39-5/8, height to marble top 30-7/16, length top 38-7/8, depth 18-3/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 68.

Commode, possibly New York, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer Height 17-1/2, width top 15-7/8, length top 16-1/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

152

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 69.

Dressing chest with attached mirror, New York, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, marble; divided top drawer Height to marble top 36-5/8, height to finial 52-1/2, length 47-1/4, depth 23-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

153

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 70.

DEMING AND BULKLEY, attributed Dressing chest with attached mirror (not seen), New York, circa 1835 Rosewood veneer, white pine, poplar, gilding Height overall 60-3/8, height to superstructure 39-3/4, height to top 35, length 37-1.4, depth 20-1/2 inches Bolection drawer fitted with divided interior; left side of top center drawer shows residue from glued label. (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

154

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 71.

155

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

DEMING AND BULKLEY Desk and bookcase, New York, circa 1835 Mahogany veneer, white pine, tulip poplar Height overall 86-3/4; width 40-1/8 inches Partial label glued to left side of left drawer (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

156

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 72.

Desk, probably New York, 1840-1850 Mahogany veneer, maple veneer, lightwood inlay, ash Height overall 59; width overall 38-1/4; depth overall 17-1/4 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

157

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 73.

Bookcase, probably New York, circa 1835-1845 Mahogany veneer Height 96, width 52-1/2, depth 21-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

158

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 74.

Bookcase over two drawers, circa 1845-1860 Mahogany veneer Height overall 93, width 47-1/4, depth 18-3/4 inches (Private collection; photograph by the author)

159

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 75.

Bookcase over drawer and two cabinet doors Mahogany veneer, poplar drawer sides, yellow pine shelves Height overall 85-1/2, width 42-1/2, depth 17-1/2 inches (Private collection; photographs by the author)

160

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 76.

Canterbury, American, circa 1840 Mahogany Height 20-1/2, length 19-1/2, width 14-1/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

161

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 77.

Hallstand, American, circa 1870 Mahogany or walnut Height 82, width 27, depth 19 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

162

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 78.

Cabinet, European, 1890-1910 Materials unknown Height 62-1/4, width 34, depth 14 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

163

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 79.

J.F. BROWNE & CO. Harp, New York, 1859-1866 Mahogany veneer, cast metal, gilt Stamped “J.F. Browne & Co./Makers/London & 281 Broadway N. York” Height 7-1/8, width 36-1.2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

164

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 80.

CHICKERING Grand Piano, Boston, circa 1866 Rosewood, rosewood veneer, ivory, cast iron soundboard Marked “Chickering, Boston, No. 28887” Height 37-3/8, length 80-1/2, depth 39-7/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

165

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 81.

Trunk, Paris, France, 19th century Wood, iron Painted on side with initials “WA”; label on interior of lid reads “229 Traveling Articles 229/St. Honore Street/ ROUSSELLE/Trunk, Box and Packing Case Maker/Paris.” Height 26, length 30-1/3 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 82.

Trunk Wood and iron; having removable shelves, top missing Height without top 26, length 55, depth 32 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

166

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 83.

Group three mirrors, American, circa 1838 Wood, probably pine, gilt Height 126, width 60, depth frame 7 inches Located in far corners of double drawing rooms (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

167

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 84.

Overmantel mirror, American, circa 1838 Wood, probably pine, gilt Height 95-1/2, width 82, depth 3-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

168

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 85.

Mirror, American, circa 1835 Wood, probably pine, gilt Height overall 103, width 74 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author

169

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 86.

Mirror, American, circa 1835 Wood, probably pine, gilt Height overall 93-1/4, width 60-3/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author

170

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 87.

Girandole mirror, probably English, circa 1835 Wood, gilt Height 53, width 29-3/4, depth 4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author

171

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 88.

Cheval mirror, possibly New York, circa 1840 Mahogany veneer Height 69-1/2, width 39-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author

172

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 89.

Overmantel mirror, American, circa 1840-1850 Wood. Probably pine, gilt Height overall 83-3/4, width 66-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author

173

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 90.

DUBOURJAL Portrait miniature, European, 1829 Signed and dated lower right “Duboourjal/1829” Ivory, maple surround, leather case with velvet lining Height overall 6-1/2, width overall 5-1/4, height image 4, width image 3-5/16 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

174

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 91.

Engraving of Henry Clay Engraved “Published by William Pate 58 & 60 Fulton St. New York/ Engraved According to an Act of Congress in the Year 1802 by R.L Backus” Height overall 35-1/2, width overall 26-5/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 92.

Engraving of Daniel Webster Engraved “Painted by Chester Harding, Engraved by J. Andrews & HR Smith/W. Pate & Co. New York” Height overall 35-1/4, width overall 26-11/16 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

175

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 93.

Engraving of John C. Calhoun Signed “T. Hicks” Height overall 35-1/4, width overall 27-5/8 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 94.

Photograph of Henrietta Aiken Rhett

176

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 95.

(Untitled) Paul the Hermit, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on canvas Height 17-1/8, width 30 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 96.

(Untitled) Saint John or Saint John in Wilderness, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on canvas Height 17-1/8, width 30 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

177

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 97.

(Untitled) Bandit Scene, after Salvador Rosa, 19th century Oil on canvas (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

178

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 98.

Copy ofSelf Portrait o f Andrea del Sarto, 19th Century Oil on Canvas; original hangs in Uffizi Gallery Height 8-3/4, width 7-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 99.

I j

Copy ofSelf Portrait o f Anthony Van Dyck, 19th Century Oil on Canvas Inscribed on backside “Honorable Wm. Aiken” Height 8-3/4, width 7-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

179

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 100.

(Untitled) Outdoor Tavern Scene, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on panel Painted on backside of panel “Zorg N 101” Height 12, width 15-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

180

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 101.

(Untitled) Indoor Tavern Scene, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on panel Painted on backside of panel “Zorg” Height 12, width 15-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

181

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 102.

Crucifixation o f Christ, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on canvas Height 12-1/4, width 9-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

182

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 103.

! t a ( 11 • t, ! t B l i l p p i 5 \ : I f!* ! ' • ' ' :~Y

(Untitled) Painting o f Lake Como, Italy, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on Canvas Height overall 31-1/2, width overall 45 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

183

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 104.

Copy of Andrea del Sarto’s Madonna o f the Harpies, 19th century Oil on canvas; original hangs in Pitti Palace Height 54; width 41-5/6 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

184

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 105.

(Untitled) Landscape painting with two figures, after Claude Lorraine or Nicholas Poussin, European Oil on canvas Height 48, width 68 inches (Private Collection; photograph by the author)

185

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 106.

Penitent Magdalene, after original by Carlos Dolce, 19th century Oil on canvas; original hangs in Pitti Palace (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

186

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 107.

(Untitled) Landscape scene with aqueduct, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on canvas Height 28-3/4, width 38 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

187

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 108.

(Untitled) Scene o f Venice, 19th century Artist Unknown Oil on canvas Inscribed on backside “Do Not Rub the Surface, Rome 1839”, attached paper label “W - OODSPEEDS BO- / 7 Ashburton Place 8 Milk Street / Books, Autographs” Height 22-1/2, width 36-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

188

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 109.

Copy of BartolomeMurillo’s Madonna and Child, 19th century Oil on canvas Height 26-1/2, width 19-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

189

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 110.

LUTHER TERRY Romeo and Juliet, painted in Rome, 1860 Oil on Canvas Height 83-3/4, width 63 inches Back is labeled “Please do not touch for 24 hours, still wet” (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

190

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 111.

GEORGE WHITING FLAGG Portrait o f Harriet Lowndes Aiken, 1859-1860 Oil on canvas Height overall 123; width overall 87 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

191

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 112.

GEORGE WHITING FLAGG Portrait o f Harriet Lowndes Aiken, 1859-1860 Oil on canvas Dimensions not available (Private collection)

192

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue Number 113.

Portrait o f William Aiken, circa 1858 Artist Unknown Oil on Canvas Height 30, width 25 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Not Pictured:

The Three Musicians Height overall 48-3/4; width 57-1/2 inches

193

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 114.

D. MENCONI Mary Magdalene at the Tomb, Florence, Italy, 1858 Engraved on base “D. Menconi esegui dall Originale de pampaloni, Firenze 1858” White marble Height 64, width 48 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

194

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 115.

THOMAS CRAWFORD, attributed First Grief, Italy, 1857 White marble Height 39-1/2, width 14 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

195

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 116.

HIRAM POWERS Proserpine, Florence, Italy, circa 1844 White marble Height 24-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 117.

E.S. BARTHOLOMEW The Shepard Boy, Rome, 1853 Carved on reverse of pedestal “Bartholomew” White marble (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

197

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 118.

Copy of Antonio Canova’sVenus D ’ltalica White marble Height 42, width 14 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

198

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 119.

Urn on pedestal, European, circa 1830 Bronze; used by the family at Jehossee (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

199

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 120.

Pair of chandeliers, French, early 19th century Crystal, cast metal and gilt Pair located in double drawing rooms (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

200

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 121.

Chandelier, probably French, circa 1830 Crystal and gilt bronze Located in entry hall (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

201

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 122.

Argand chandelier, circa 1830 Cast iron and gilt Height approximately 60 inches Located in dining room (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

202

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 123.

Argand chandelier, circa 1830 Cast metal Located in library (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

203

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 124.

Argand chandelier, circa 1830 Cast metal and gilt Height overall approximately 50 inches Located in second floor hallway (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

204

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 125.

Set 4 gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal and gilt Set located on either side of pocket doors in double drawing rooms (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 126.

Pair gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal and gilt Pair located in art gallery (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

205

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 127.

Pair gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal Pair located in second floor hall (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 128.

Pair gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal Pair located in family parlor/withdrawing room (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

206

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 129.

Pair gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal Pair located in west bedroom (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 130.

Pair gasoliers, mid 19th century Cast metal Pair located in east bedroom (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author.

207

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 131.

Group four torchers, consisting of two pairs, 19th century Cast iron and gilt Height overall of each approximately 60-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; Photograph by the author)

208

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 132.

Examples of figural heads located at top of wallpaper panel surrounds in double drawing rooms, probably France, circa 1855 Wood, gilt (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photographs by the author)

209

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 133.

Scroll curtain rods with acanthus leaf decoration Length 4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 134.

Curtain rod terminals Height acanthus leaves 11-1/2 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

210

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Catalogue number 135.

Center element to curtain rod Length of rams head design element 18 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

Catalogue number 136.

Curtain rings Diameter 5 - 4-1/4 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

211

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Catalogue number 137.

Window cornices Wood, gilt Length 69 inches (Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation; photograph by the author)

212

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission