Rienzi Symposium “Hidden Hands: Untold Stories of the Object”
Denis Diderot, L’Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, plate 419, c. 1750–75, silver-plated, from A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry: Manufacturing and the Technical Arts, 1959, Dover Publications, New York.
Worcester Porcelain Manufactory, gilding attributed to Charlotte Hampton, Covered Dessert Tureen and Ladle from the “Bostock” Service, c. 1785–90, soft-paste porcelain, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Rienzi Collection, Museum purchase funded by Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III.
Rienzi Symposium “Hidden Hands: Untold Stories of the Object”
Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts, presents the virtual symposium “Hidden Hands: Untold Stories of the Object.”
Free / Live via Zoom
Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 10 a.m. Central Time
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Geographic exploration and colonial expansion led to the introduction of new materials and technological innovation in the early modern period. These developments created an increased demand for goods made of ceramics, glass, exotic woods, textiles, and metals. The refining of raw materials and the production of these goods depended upon a diverse labor force made up of men, women, and children from across the globe. Despite the integral roles played by these workers in all of these varied enterprises, their names and contributions have often been lost to history. Who were these people? How did they interact and engage with these new materials and goods? What social, political, and economic forces contributed to the exclusion of their narratives? The symposium invites scholars to reconsider established ideas of craftsmanship and artistic authorship through the telling of these “hidden” stories.
The 2021 edition of Rienzi’s biennial symposium is a virtual event that explores the exhibition Hidden Hands: Invisible Workers in Industrial England, on view at Rienzi through January 2.
More Info
• Exhibition Hidden Hands: Invisible Workers in Industrial England
• Symposium & Selected Papers “Hidden Hands: Untold Stories of the Object”
Education programs at Rienzi receive generous funding from the Sterling-Turner Foundation; Alkek and Williams Foundation; Carroll Sterling and Harris Masterson III Endowment; and the Caroline Wiess Law Endowment for Rienzi.