Out of the Dirt and Into the House: Archaeology and Decorative Arts Working Together

Author(s): Mary Furlong Minkoff; Teresa Teixeira

Year: 2017

Summary

Unlike other presidential house museums, Montpelier did not inherit a large collection of objects with clear Madison provenance. However, archaeology has been instrumental to reconstructing Montpelier’s story and is one of the only ways for us to know what objects were in the homes of the Madisons and their enslaved laborers. The Montpelier Foundation is currently in a rather unique position: not only are artifacts being unearthed daily, we also have the budget to actively seek out and acquire collections objects in order to interpret these findings within our historic interiors and gallery spaces. In order to do this successfully, we have had to overcome perceived boundaries between our two fields--something previous generations have been unable to do. This paper will discuss how our departments have come together to make the best and most accurate decisions by using the archaeological record to inform collecting.

Cite this Record

Out of the Dirt and Into the House: Archaeology and Decorative Arts Working Together. Mary Furlong Minkoff, Teresa Teixeira. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435198)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 252