Animal Hide

Public Domain

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Natural specimen Unknown Russian

CultureRussian

Titles

Animal Hide

Datec. 1786

Made inRussia

MediumLeather

Dimensions57 × 85 in. (144.8 × 215.9 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Thomas G. Jameson

Object numberB.97.2

Not on view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

MISCELLANEOUS

DescriptionThese hides comprise a remarkable survival and discovery, having been salvaged from the 1786 wreck of the Metta Catharina. The 75-ton cargo ship, bound from St. Petersburg to Genoa carrying hemp and leather, was driven onto the rocks just south of Plymouth, England. Within the territorial waters of the Duchy of Cornwall, the wreck was considered the property of the Prince of Wales and with his encouragement the Metta Catharina has been excavated, some of its artifacts being sold to fund the costs of this effort. After two hundred years, the cargo of "Russia" leather was remarkably intact. While intended for a variety of uses these hides were desirable for upholstery as evidenced by a rare example at Bayou Bend. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and other institutions have acquired hides from the Metta Catharina recognizing that they enable the museums to relate more fully to their visitors the role of upholstered furniture in early America.
Provenance[Daniel P. Brown, Jr., Granby, Connecticut]; purchased by MFAH, 1997.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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