Existing comment:
The Japanese Study:
This room has been installed as if it were the 1880s study of an American collector.
The Japanese pavilion at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia excited thousands of Americans and had a permanent effect on American taste. William Walters and his son Henry, who had become collectors of Chinese and Japanese art in the 1860s, bought several hundred objects at the Centennial. Some are on view in this room. They were once exhibited in the gallery William Walters opened behind his home at 5 West Mt Vernon Place in 1884. A display table and a chair in Oriental style made for the 1884 gallery are now in this room.
The Japanese study was used as a dining room by both the Thomas (1850-92) and the Jencks (1892-1953) families. The kitchen was in the basement, and food was placed in a dumbwaiter and sent upstairs. Except for the Thomases' English Gothic-revival sideboard, which stands today in its original dining room has long disappeared. In the 1890s, the Jencks family removed the Gothic-style plasterwork and gave the room a French Renaissance character, installing an old chimney piece, a bay window, and different ceiling beams. |