Vase with Pink Roses

Painted by Carrie Hill, Manufactured by R. Delinières and Company, Limoges, France

About 1900

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, as increased competition made porcelain imported from France more affordable, china painting became a popular pastime for American women. For some it was a hobby, while for others it was a cottage industry. Capitalizing on the china painting craze, Carrie Hill and Mrs. J. B. Raulston taught women to decorate porcelain—as well as to paint in oil and watercolor—at their studio in Birmingham’s Commercial Club Building.

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Decorative walking cane of deep blue blown glass over white glass in a traditional shape with shepherd's crook handle.
Blue, pink, and plaid strip quilt.
Pitcher commemorating the "Discovery of America" of transfer-printed, lead-glazed earthenware in shades of monochrome blue-green, of tapering form with a bulbous neck, the shaped handle inscribed "1492" and "Discovery of America," the body decorated with oval reserves depicting many firsts in American history, including three large oval reserves enclosed by chains depicting "William Penn's Treaty with the Indians 1683"; "Landing of Columbus"; and "De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi 1541," below these are four smaller reserves enclosed by ropes depicting "Landing of Roger Williams"; "Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella"; "Daniel Boone's first view of Kentucky"; and "First view of the Rocky Mountains," and above the large reserves are two small reserves with scrolled borders depicting "Pocahontas saving the life of Capt. John Smith" and "Landing at Jamestown," under the handle is one reserve enclosed by rope depicting "Pilgrims receiving Massasoit," on the bulbous neck are additional reserves with the portrait of "Du Quesne"; "Fremont raising the flag"; "Christopher Columbus"; "Fernando de Soto"; "Landing of the Pilgrims"; and "Amerigo Vespucci," all against an oak leaf ground with ropes, anchors and a ship's porthole, with small spout, the inside lip of the pitcher with a pattern of entwined ropes.
Picture or story quilt handcrafted of multi-colored cotton and cotton blend fabrics in shades of red, green and blue, made in commemoration of the Civil Rights Movement, in a grid pattern of nine blocks beginning in the upper left corner with block 5) Bus Boycott--Rosa Parks; upper middle block 6) [illegible] Baptist Church (appears to be an image of Bethel Baptist Church); upper right block 8) Kennedy Saga; middle left block 1) 16th Street Baptist Church; middle block 3) Extra Milers; middle right block 2) Freedom Riders; lower left block 7) Edmund Pettus Bridge; lower middle block 4) Dexter Avenue Baptist Church; lower right block 9) Directory.