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October Issue
2009
South Carolina
State Museum in Columbia, SC, Offers Exhibit of Items from SC's
Fall Line Region
South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC, is presenting the exhibit, From the Pee Dee to the Savannah: Art and Material Culture from South Carolina's Fall Line Region, in the Lipscomb Gallery through Mar. 22, 2010.
The stories told by artifacts left to posterity by citizens of South Carolina's fall line region will be celebrated in this new exhibit.
The fall line is a geographic region in South Carolina where the rivers are no longer navigable from the Lowcountry. Throughout the state's history, the fall line, which stretches from Cheraw on the Pee Dee River to Hamburg (present day North Augusta) on the Savannah River, yielded material culture that was characteristic of its people.
"The art and material culture fall line citizens made, bought, sold, and used revealed the manner in which they negotiated their surroundings, met their needs and formed their aspirations," said Curator of Art Paul Matheny.
John Sherrer, Historic Columbia Foundation director of collections and interpretation, emphasized, "Each fall line community, town and city that developed throughout the region made unique contributions to our state's tangible history."
The contributions represented by artifacts from the region include decorative and fine arts such as furniture, paintings, textiles (quilts, samplers, coverlets, etc.), pottery, silver, weapons, architecture and other objects that were made, sold, and used by individuals from the fall line region.
The exhibit is a product of the South Carolina Fall Line Consortium, which includes the State Museum and nine other museums, libraries, foundations and institutions. It is the first major exhibition to showcase the stories and artifacts of this previously understudied and underappreciated area of the Palmetto State.
Guests will see such works as The Daughters of William and Mary Gregg, a ca.-1850 painting depicting the children of the man who established the first successful textile mill in the state, the Graniteville Mill, in 1849; the Pierce Mason Butler sword presented to Butler's family to honor his service in the Mexican War (1846-48); an 1828 sampler by Cornelia Townes; a 1791 ledger from the Snow Hill Trading Post; furniture from 19th century Columbia maker Milo Hoyt Berry; a ca.-1850 hunt board from Marlboro County; and a ca.-1855 painting of Columbia by the noted artist Eugene Dovillier.
"I am absolutely
amazed at the number of incredible objects that have evolved from
this region," said Matheny. "The collaboration
between the museums and institutions that are part of the Fall
Line Consortium has opened many doors to treasures that we may
not have recognized (as being fall line related). This show
is about the stories these objects tell, and the individuals who
made or used them, all of which helped transform and reflect the
history of our state."
Other artifacts to be seen in the exhibit include an elegant walking
stick made around 1860 by James Peckam of Columbia. The elaborately-carved
holly stick features insects and a spiraling vine and is topped
by an ivory and silver handle. Also included are a target rifle
hand-crafted in Columbia around 1850 to 1855 by Artisan Peter
Kraft, clocks, historic South Carolina Dispensary bottles, pottery
and much more.
The Fall Line Consortium includes the South Carolina State Museum, the Historic Columbia Foundation, McKissick Museum, the South Caroliniana Library, the Columbia Museum of Art, the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, the Lexington County Museum, the SC Dept. of Archives and History, the University of South Carolina Public History Program and the SC Digital Library.
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at
803/898-4921 or visit (www.southcarolinastatemuseum.org).
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