Stenton

In honor of the Semiquincentennial and The Clay Studio's Radical Americana, please join us at Stenton on Friday, May 22nd for a day that combines consideration and examination of historical pewter objects with 'Sadware', a contemporary artists’ installation that commemorates pewter as a historically important metal with a longstanding place in American nostalgia culture. 'Sadware' asks us what we value, culturally and monetarily and why, and speaks to changes over time, memory, authority, collecting, and discarding.

Pewter – a malleable, silver-colored metal alloy composed of tin, copper, and antimony, or bismuth

Sadware -- an obsolete term referring to heavy, flat, or hammered pieces of fine pewter, such as plates.

Space is limited! RSVP here: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/stenton/sadware-and-historic-pewter-talks-workshop

PROGRAM SCHEDULE:

10:00 AM - Coffee & Refreshments

10:30 AM - Pewter & 'Sadware' – Craft, Nostalgia, and Value

Artists Belle-Pilar Fleming and Bri Murphy consider pewter objects as opportunities to examine notions of American identity, inheritance, and consumerism across generations. They will discuss the research and concept behind their embroidery-based installation, now on view at Stenton, as part of the Clay Studio’s 250th Anniversary project Radical Americana.

11:20 AM - Pewter in the Service of Humankind

Curator Don Fennimore will ground our day in the physical properties of pewter, its composition and craft, why it was used, why it fell out of favor over time, and why families like the Logans imported London-made pewter.

12:00 PM - Lunch and 'Sadware' viewing

1:00-2:00 PM - Hands-on Pewter Workshop

250 years ago, April 15, 1776, Dinah received her manumission paper from William and Hannah Logan, thereby liberating her from slavery. As noted on the manumission document, Dinah had requested her freedom. Despite her status as a newly free woman, Dinah remained at Stenton as a paid servant, along with her young grandson Cyrus, until her death in 1805.

Please join us at Stenton this Saturday, April 18th from 12:00-4:00pm to celebrate Dinah Day 250 and to learn more about Dinah through themed house tours and performances by Irma Gardner-Hammond. For a full event schedule and to RSVP, visit: https://www.stenton.org/programs

Image: “Release from Bondage,” Dinah’s Manumission, April 15, 1776. Haverford College Library, Quaker and Special Collections