
A thematic reinstallation of the decorative arts collection, prominently featuring recent acquisitions of ceramics, glass, and silver.
KAM’s decorative arts gallery is named for local benefactors Theresa and Harlan Moore. Theresa Moore primarily collected European, American, Chinese, and Japanese ceramics and glass. The Moores left an endowment for the care and enlargement of this collection, which has enabled KAM to make major acquisitions in recent years. These include a face jug by an enslaved potter in Edgefield, South Carolina, and an oyster jar made for Thomas Downing, whose New York City oyster house was a gathering place for elites as well as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The first phase of the reinstallation of this gallery occurred in 2021, which incorporated a new display of East Asian ceramics, with works from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand spanning the full length of the west wall.
This second phase incorporates thematic displays of glass, silver, ceramics, etc. from the United States, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere. These thematic displays will explore a wide range of topics, including collecting histories, technological advancement in the arts, colonialism and empire, indigeneity, hidden histories, and women makers.
Reinstallation curated by Maureen Warren, Curator of European and American Art