The intricate, twisting bands of ribbons are the perfect metaphor for the complex history of ”Imagining an Irish Past: The Celtic Revival 1840-1940,” an exhibition opening Wednesday at the David and Alfred Smart Museum.
This is the first show in this country to focus on the style known as Celtic Revival, a 19th Century interest in medieval Celtic ornament. Its origins ribbon back to Ireland-where archeological finds awakened that nation to its ancient and medieval cultural achievements-and then on to the World`s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, fanning the flames of ethnic pride within the city`s immigrant population.
Evidence of the revival is abundant in Chicago, where its twisting-ribbon motif shows up prominently in the architectural ornamentation of Louis Sullivan and the magnificent stained-glass windows of Old St. Patrick`s Church.
The Smart exhibition revives the revival, bringing together for the first time some 300 magnificent objects, including metalwork, architectural ornament, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, stained glass, prints and illustrated books.
The works of art, which come from distinguished institutions in Ireland and the United States and from private collections, will be on view through June 16 as part of the University of Chicago`s centennial celebration.
Just as the typical interlacing motif turns back upon itself repeatedly, so the many uses of the style interweave through time and across the Atlantic. The Celtic Revival is rooted in the mania for things medieval that had spread among the gentry and became institutionalized in the Celtic Society, founded in 1845. The Irish Archaeological Society already had been established in 1840 to protect the existing monumental and architectural remains of Ireland.
In 1857, Henry O`Neill had published his ”Illustrations of the most interesting of the sculptured crosses of Ancient Ireland,” celebrating the huge stone crosses and monastic ruins that were popular with travelers since the 1830s.
Amid this interest in the Irish past, the seepy black bogs of Ireland suddenly yielded objects of such beauty and technical virtuosity ”so as to cause stupefaction,” as a writer of the time noted.
One was the Tara Brooch, found in August 1850 by children digging on the seashore near Drogheda. Made of bronze ornamented with gems, this clothes-fastener is said to be the most remarkable work of its kind ever produced. More than a decorative object, its motifs have prehistoric origins, the interlace decoration linked to magic knots and talismans used to ward off evil spirits.
Tony Jones, president of the School of the Art Institute and a scholar in Celtic decorative arts, has written an essay for the Smart Museum show`s catalog. He says the anonymous ancient Celt craftsmen who made these objects
”were mostly attached to monasteries or to great princely families.”
(Many assume Celtic is synonymous with Ireland, but the Celts were more widespread. They emanated from Central Europe and spread to Brittany in the north of France, Cornwall in the west of England, Wales, Ireland and up the western edge of Scotland, says Jones.)
The treasures of the bogs fueled nationalistic feelings and inspired numerous contemporary copies.
Edmond Johnson, prominent Dublin jeweler and goldsmith, did research on the techniques ”and discovered that in the 8th Century they knew how to do things they didn`t know how to do in the 19th Century. He made molds of these objects and was given permission to make facsimiles,” says Teri J. Edelstein, director of the Smart Museum.
His glittering facsimiles were exhibited at the Columbian Exposition.
By the turn of the century, the appearance of neo-Celtic motifs in Chicago`s architecture, decorative arts, sheet music covers and book design was bound to the presence of a large Irish immigrant population in this city. Perhaps the most visible manifestation of the Celtic Revival in Chicago is the rich ornamental style of architect Louis Sullivan, who wed complex neo-Celtic patterns with stylized natural forms.
Celtic Revival style reached the middle classes when retailers marketed their own replicas.
After the exposition, Johnson`s facsimiles were transferred to the Columbian Museum of Chicago, later to become the Field Museum; ultimately they came to the Smart Museum, where they have been in storage for years, never having been displayed.
”When I became director I decided it would be wonderful to do as a larger exhibit,” Edelstein says.
Among these modern interpretations of the ancient Celtic past will be jewelry inspired by the Tara Brooch; silver objects produced by the firm of Liberty & Co.; a monumental Belleek ceramic statue, ”Hibernia Awakening From Her Slumbers”; and textiles embroidered by the Dun Emer Craft Guild, founded by the sisters of William Butler Yeats, which show the influence of Irish illuminated manuscripts.
The impact of the Celtic Revival on American applied art will be represented by Sullivan`s stenciled designs for the Chicago Stock Exchange, a spectacular 15-piece turn-of-the-century desk set in a pattern called
”Celtic,” and a stained-glass window by Thomas A. O`Shaughnessy.
”This is very much an Irish city,” Edelstein says, ”and we`ve involved a great part of the Irish community in Chicago. We`ve had wonderful help from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Old St. Patrick`s Church is the epitome of Celtic Revival,” its stained glass windows done by O`Shaughnessy.
Jones agrees that because of the large Irish population here, ”You`ve got a very sensitized audience.” But you don`t have to be Irish to love Celtic Revival, he says: ”The exhibit is full of beautiful objects. One of the greatest appeals is that the stuff is just so gorgeous.”
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The Smart Museum is at 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 312-702-0200.
