So, apparently there's a really large lake in the middle of South Philadelphia. It's amazing the things you can find when you actually venture outside of the house! Or west of Broad Street...that's a place I've deemed a "Red Zone" and therefore stay out of...(to be fair, the lake isn't in a red zone, but Point Breeze has pretty much jaded my entire view of everything west of Broad....)
Anyway, next to the huge lake full of ducks, geese, and a couple swans is the American Swedish Historical museum - a great museum about a group of people that is widely overlooked in the historical documentation of Philadelphia and in American history.
For this blog, I have chosen a piece from the new Swedish American Line exhibition.
This exhibition is a collection of items and artifacts from the ships that became the main route and from the United States by many Swedish citizens. In particular, I have chosen the wall display of three large crowns.
This exhibit is entitled "Three Crowns" and is made of painted metal and gold gilt. These particular crowns adorned the smoke stack of the MS Gripsholm, one of the ships in the Swedish American fleet, in the 1950s. The crown was a symbol of the fleet and can be seen on all souvenirs and dinnerware used on the ships.
These crowns were originally a very important detail on the ship. They were visible from miles away and identified the ships as part of the Swedish American fleet. Now, these large crowns fill a wall of the exhibition space. Their shiny gold coating, a detail that may not have been appreciated while hung atop massive smoke stacks, reinforces the idea opulence and wealth that was found throughout the ships. They are of particular importance to those who remember traveling on the Swedish American Lines or had family that used the lines.
These three crowns are on display at the beginning of the display as a welcome into the exhibition, just like they would have been one of the first things visible as the ship approached port.
The crowns were acquired as part of the collection from Torsten Torstensson. Torstensson has the most extensive collection of Swedish American Line artifacts and loaned the entire collection to the American Swedish Historical Museum with the stipulation that all artifacts be on display.
Initially, the crowns were intended to be displayed on an eight foot wall as visitors entered the exhibition space. When the collection arrived, however, it was discovered that the crowns were much larger than previously thought. They were instead hung on the first main wall as visitors enter and turn to the right into the room. They are arranged in the same way they were arranged on the smokestacks of the ships.
There is a small label placed next to the crowns.
The label offers a brief description of crowns and why they are significant to the ship. The text on this panel describes the crowns as "beautiful" and is phrased to remind viewers that the ships were extravagant and admired by many.
Other nearby objects are dinnerware and souvenirs from suites on the ships. All of these artifacts are decorated with these crowns. They reinforce the importance of the crowns as symbols of the Swedish American Line.
A knowledge of Swedish culture in America would help with the understanding of the three crowns as well as the entire collection. Additionally, the crowns may be of interest to those with an interest in the history of ships and cruise lines. An understanding of immigration routes would also make this exhibit more interesting.
The Three Crowns may not be interesting to those who are more focused on the artifacts and objects that were accessible and actually used by passengers. Things like the complimentary ash trays and spoons might be more interesting. Visitors looking for a personal narrative from passengers on the ship may not be able to connect with the crowns.
The crowns are a sign of wealth and extravagance which the museum portrays as a positive experience. A differing viewpoint could be that the unnecessary usage of gilded crowns on smoke stacks is a wasteful display of wealth. Additionally, these crowns were aboard the Gripsholm which launched a year after Stockholm, another Swedish American Line ship, collided with Andrea, an Italian ship, resulting in the death of about 51 people. (http://www.salship.se/dawe/dawe_collision_1.asp) This extravagance could have been perceived as insensitive to those lost in the disaster.
It would be helpful for viewers to be able to see how the crowns were displayed on the ships smokestacks. Images of the smokestacks could be usesful for this. These crowns could also be used as a sense of scale for the entire ship. This could be done by painting a life size smokestack behind the crowns on the wall with a scale model of the ship or ships placed below. Additionally, comparing the crowns across the Swedish American Line would provide viewers with more information.
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