Balch Institute: Selections from the Museum Collections
Spiritual Traditions
Image Archive

Model of a Russian Orthodox church (c. 1924).
Gift of Helen Dopsovic. (23-1/2" x 13-3/4" x 23"). RU.84.41.
This beautifully rendered model was handmade by a Russian immigrant artisan who was a boarder in the donor's childhood home in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. It is modeled after a typical Russian Orthodox village church although the bell tower is missing. The interior wall painting, consisting of religious scenes, emulates traditional church decoration. The donor's mother was a Russian immigrant; her father was Czech.

Armenian commemorative plate (1967).
Gift of Rev. Arsen Hagopian. (10-5/8"). ARM.73.1.
The inscription on the reverse of the plate indicates that it was made to commemorate consecration of the new St. Gregory the Illuminator Apostolic Church on May 21, 1967. The first Armenian parish in Philadelphia was formed in 1902. The original St. Gregory the Illuminator church at 16th and Oxford Streets was consecrated in 1928; the new church at 8701 Ridge Avenue was built after the sale of the old building. The pastor donated the plate.

Charcoal sketch for a stained glass window, by Nicola D'Ascenzo.</ strong>
Museum Purchase. (46-1/2" x 32-1/2"). IT.89.137.
The window for which this drawing was made belongs to an unidentified church in the Philadelphia area. D'Ascenzo, an internationally known leaded-glass artist, was born in Toricella, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1882. In his studio on Summer Street in Philadelphia, he made windows for many churches in the area, as well as for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. 

Chinese lion mask (1981).
Gift of Catherine Miles and her students at General George McCall School. (6'5: x 24" x 20") C.81.35.
This Chinese lion's mask hung in "Freedom's Doors: Immigrant Ports of Entry to the United States", the museum's long-term exhibition, from 1986-1992.

It was made of papier mâché by students at the McCall School in Philadelphia, for the 1981 Buddhist New Year's celebration, which includes parades and dances. Lion dancers use a mask for the head of the lion while a long line of dancers forms the body.

Hand-painted vejigante coconut mask (c. 1981), made in Puerto Rico.
Gift of Domingo and Patricia Negron. (10-1/4" x 6-3/4") PR.79.17.a-e.
Papier mâché mask by Edwin Arocho (1990), made in Philadelphia.
Museum Purchase. (17-1/2" x 14-1/2" x 8") PR.90.239.
While these masks have been crafted recently and are likely to be considered "folk art," they actually represent contemporary interpretations of Puerto Rican history and religious traditions. Although most Puerto Ricans today are Catholic as a result of their Spanish heritage, both the original people of the island and the Africans imported as slaves had their own religions. The Spaniards interpreted all native and African images of the spiritual and the supernatural as manifestations of the devil, but Puerto Rico's peoples preserved much from their ancestral religions under the guise of Catholic names and forms. Originally the vejigante were demons who appeared at the Spanish patronal festival of Santiago (St. James), as representatives of the Moors fought by Spanish knights. Today the vejigante have been recreated by Puerto Rican popular tradition as figures of resistance against colonialism and imperialism. The mask made from a coconut shell is from Loiza, where the Santiago festival was strong. It is more common than the mask of papier-mâché, which was traditionally made in Ponce and used during Carnival, the last day before Lent.

Hopi Kachina doll
Gift of Estella Scott Johnson. (8" x 3" x 2"). AI.80.125.
A Pueblo people, the Hopi reside in western New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. A Kachina is an ancestral spirit in the Pueblo pantheon, and also a human who in rituals impersonates the spirit. Likewise the doll is a representation of the actual spirit and of its human counterpart. Kachina dolls are given to children as a reminder of their heritage and to instruct them in sacred lore.

Unlike most Native American groups, the Hopi and other Pueblo people have never been substantially relocated. Consequently their traditional culture has survived with less disturbance than those of other Native Americans.

The museum houses a collection of 34 Native American artifacts collected by Estella Scott Johnson in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. Johnson, who directed the college's World Cultures Center at Cheyney State University, is a professor emerita of social studies. She collected Native American artifacts in an effort to combat stereotypes generally and to demonstrate the diversity of Native nations.

Pysanki.
#1, #4 & #7:Contemporary wooden pysanki from the former Soviet Union, sold by Ukrainian and other eastern European importers in the U.S. (U.87.373.1-3).
#2:Contemporary Ukrainian pysanki by Sister Josephat Slobodyan, O.S.B.M., Philadelphia. (U.87.373.4).
#3 & #6: Traditional Ukrainian pysanki, representing the Hutsul region, by Irene Maday, Philadelphia. (U.87.373.5 and 6).
#5:Contemporary Ukrainian pysanki, Philadelphia. (U.85.57). All of the pysanki were purchased by the museum.
Pysanki are Ukrainian Easter eggs. The term derives from the word pysaty, which means to write, and describes the process of decoration. They are an art form indigenous to Ukraine, but with very close parallels in the egg decoration of other Slavic groups. The designs on pysanki derive from the religious symbolism of pre-Christian Slavs. Despite a shared tradition, egg decoration varies greatly, according to regional, village, and family traditions. The function of the egg as a ritual object also differs among ethnic groups. Ukrainians used the eggs as gifts or as the first food consumed to end the Lenten fast.
When large numbers of Ukrainians emigrated to the United States at the turn of the century, they brought with them the art of making pysanki. Although pysanki made in America today are likely to be purely decorative, their decoration preserves an ancient symbolic tradition.

Pennsylvania German birth certificate (frak tur) by Ruthanne Hartung (1987). Watercolor wash and ink.
Museum Purchase. (16" x 3" x 1", framed). PGR.87.334.
This birth certificate is inscribed for Edward James Becker, "born November 5, 1941, in the city of Bethlehem in the county of Northampton in the state of Pennsylvania." Fraktur (illuminated manuscripts which document births, baptisms, marriages, and other important events) are part of a widespread revival of traditional Pennsylvania German crafts. Contemporary artists like Ruthanne Hartung, who resides in Reading, Pennsylvania, have adapted folk art motifs to suit the tastes of their customers. Unlike traditional examples of the art, this certificate is a commemorative one, produced when its subject was 46 years old.

Danish religious text (1700, probably rebound in the 19th century ).
Gift of Richard Capie. (6" x 2-3/4" x 2-1/4"). DA.86.112.
This text was brought to the United States by Jens Koford in 1859. It was probably a family heirloom.

Ketubbah (Jewish marriage contract) by Abigai l Diamond Chapman, (1987).
Museum purchase. (29-1/2" x 25-1/4"). E.89.123.
By the 1950s handwritten and illuminated marriage certificates ceased to be popular. Today, they are being revived. A fine example is this 1987 rendition by a Ketubbah artist recording her own 1961 marriage. The non-traditional text of this contemporary ketubbah reflects modern American values of mutual love and respect, but the tree of life motif reaffirms the artist's Jewish heritage.

German-American Sunday school certificate (1911).
Gift of Elsie Meistering Gillam. (13" x 19"). G.84.86.
The donor was born in Braunschweig, Germany, and came to the United States with her parents in 1903. They arrived at Ellis Island and settled in Philadelphia. She was eleven years old when she received this certificate from the German Independent Sunday School Association. German Sunday schools virtually disappeared after World War I.

Polish-American marriage certificate (1919).
Museum Purchase. (16-1/4" x 11-3/4"). P.90.127.
This marriage certificate has images which are typical of Christian wedding iconography: Christ and the Virgin, the marriage at Cana, and the Annunciation. The nuptials were celebrated in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, but the text is in Polish, an indication of the continued importance immigrants accorded their native language.

Kiddush cup (1874).
Gift of Leon and Ruth Rosenberg Leppel. (2-1/2" x 2"). JE.86.182.
The cup belonged to Ruth Rosenberg Leppel's grandfather, who brought it to America from Russian-ruled Ukraine about 1914. The kiddush (sanctification) cup is usually among the most treasured of Jewish family possessions and often is passed on from one generation to the next. Before each main meal on the Sabbath or during the High Holy Days the senior male or rabbi of the community recites a prayer over the kiddush cup filled with wine.

Parokhet.
Gift of Bertha Greenberg. (96" x 120"). JE.83.66.
The focus of Jewish worship in the synagogue is the Ark, the cabinet along the wall nearest to Jerusalem which contains the parchment scrolls of the Torah. The ark often is ornamented with an elaborate curtain such as this parokhet embroidered with the Lion of Judah. The curtain is from Hevra Tehillim-B'nai Israel Synagogue, formerly located at the corner of Tulip and Auburn Streets in Port Richmond, Philadelphia. The synagogue was chartered in 1877 and the building was erected in 1904. It represented the first congregation of eastern European Jews in Philadelphia. The founders' exodus dated from the last decades of the nineteenth century as persecution against Jews spread across eastern and central Europe.

Tallit Katan.
Gift of Eleni F. Zatz, in memory of Clara Gerber Lafair. (10-1/2" x 8-1/4"). JE.83.27.
A prayer undergarment worn by Orthodox Jewish boys and men, a tallit katanor tzitzit often shows evidence of its ritual use. This one, which is stained with wine sipped during the Sabbath prayer, was brought to America from Poland by the donor's grandmother, Clara Gerber Lafair, in 1905.

"Lucky money" envelopes (1987).
Gift of Cecilia Moy Yep, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. (4-1/4" x 2-3/4"). C.87.393.1&2.
Envelopes such as these are used for gifts of money to the bride and groom at Chinese-American weddings. They are printed with the "double happiness" character, in red, the color of joy and celebration.

Indian diya lamp (c. 1940).
Gift of Arvind Lall. (6" x 4-1/4"). EI.87.343.
The donor came from New Delhi in 1986 to study law at the University of Pennsylvania. He brought with him this diya from Bimar, India. During the Hindu Divali festival, such lamps are stuffed with cotton wool and oil and burned at night to light up the home.

Slovak house blessing (c. 1890).
Gift of Jean Shofranko Olexy. (19" x 16-1/4"). S.91.221.
The donor's grandparents, Jan and Alzbieta Lorinc, brought this with them from their ancestral villages of Cervenica and Opina in Slovakia, in 1890 when they settled in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The inscription translates: "Where there is faith, there is love/Where there is love, there is peace/Where there is peace, there are blessings/Where there are blessings, there is God/Where there is God, nothing is wanting."

Italian-American child's dress (c. 1935).
Gift of Marie Sabelli Tomasso. IT.85.153.
Following an Italian custom, this child's satin dress, which may have been worn for her first communion, was made from her mother's wedding gown. The dress symbolizes the importance of the wedding and the continuity of the family.

Wedding cap (1955), Slovak missal (1955).
Gift of Mrs. Irene Wildgrube. (3" x 7" x 7-1/2") S.88.1; and (4-1/2" x 3" x 1-1/2") S.88.2.
The cap, worn by the donor at her wedding, is an American department store substitute for a traditional Slovak matron's cap or kerchief. The missal, in Slovak, was carried by her aunt Hermine Slavik during the ceremony.

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