Two new exhibits open at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond (VA). “Knickknackery: Curiosities from the Museum’s Vaults” and “The War Comes Home” both open Feb. 22.
War Comes Home
How did the war affect the southern people? How did it alter daily life and accustomed roles and responsibilities? How did people cope with shortages caused by the federal naval blockade, the erosion of slavery, and the destruction of property? How did families and communities cope with death on an unprecedented scale? “The War Comes Home” will address these and other questions. The exhibit will feature such popular objects as wartime “ersatz” or substitute items, slave-made textiles and baskets, mourning dresses and jewelry, smuggling dolls, and documents and possessions of women who worked in Confederate hospitals and in the Treasury Departments.
Knickknackery: Curiosities from the Museum’s Vaults
The Museum of the Confederacy’s collections are rich with objects that are visually interesting, have unique stories associated with them, or are just plain quirky. For years these objects, while fascinating on their own, have not fit into the Museum’s larger exhibitions. When assembled together however, these curiosities give an extraordinary view into the process of museum collecting and the unexpected surprises that can come from it. Featured artifacts include a hoof from the horse of Turner Ashby, jewelry fashioned from human hair, body armor, a letter from Pope Pius IX to Jefferson Davis, and numerous items struck by bullets.