Workshops: Goods

Workshop 12: Domestic Goods:
Women, Material Culture, and the Art of Collecting

Conveners:

• Katherine A. McIver, Art History, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Andrea Z. Roth, Art History, University of Southern California

The organization of the early modern home and the decoration of its interior have recently begun to receive scholarly attention. However, the study of the ways in which women contributed to interior decor continues to be neglected. Furthermore, the study of female patronage continues, for the most part, to follow the model of male patronage studies, examining commissions of paintings, sculpture and architecture, yet ignoring the very particular set of opportunities available to women as collectors of precious material goods. With the presentation of select case studies, this workshop is designed to raise substantive questions surrounding the role and status of women as collectors and to redefine "patronage" to more accurately reflect gender. We proposed an interdisciplinary workshop that will attract participants from literature, history and art history, who will help illuminate the uncharted arena of women's role in the ornamentation of the domestic interior and the collection of precious goods.

Our task was to discuss with our workshop participants how archival materials and other sources may be used in writing a history of women as collectors of precious goods and as decorators of the domestic interior. Participants were requested to bring bibliographic citations and at least three issues (questions, research findings, methodological perspectives) to discuss thus contributing their own experience during the workshop.