Artifact Record Details
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Basic Information |
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| Artifact Identification | Chain (2005.10.0001B) | |
| Classification | Personal Artifacts : Personal Gear : Chain | |
| Visual Description | The chain is ivory with eight charms with small bell-shaped flowers, small round bulbs and leaves on each of them. In between the charms and at the end of the chain are plain circular links, and there is a hook on one end. | |
| Artist/Maker | None | |
| Geographic Location | America, North, United States, Nebraska, Omaha | |
| Period/Date | 19th- early 20th c., Probably 19th Century | |
| Culture | American | |
| Locality/Archaeological Site | ||
Physical Analysis |
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| Dimension 1 (Length) | 42.6 cm | |
| Dimension 2 (Width) | 1.5 cm | |
| Dimension 3 (N/A) | N/A | |
| Weight | 14 g | |
| Measuring Remarks | Width measurement is of a charm - JW, 11/15/2005. | |
| Materials | Animal--Ivory, Plastic | |
| Manufacturing Processes | Assembling, Carving, Manufacturing | |
| Munsell Color Information | N/A | |
Research Remarks |
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| Published Description | N/A | |
| Scholarly Notes | 1/12/2006: "During a brief web site search I found an Ernst Schmidt (1823-1895) of St. Louis who was a turner in ivory and made billiard balls, tenpin balls, and pipes and the family established a pool table manufacturing business. More research needs to be done to determine if this is the Ernst Schmidt or if there is another Ernst Schmidt that made this necklace. The name is not uncommon. Bad Flinsberg is the German name for Swieradow Zdroj, a small town in Southwest Poland that is also a health resort. Because it is a resort area, the individual is not necessarily from Bad Flinsberg. " - Jennifer White, Registrar, 1/12/2006 1/12/2006: ""Recently, I ran across the note photocopied below, which is in my mother's handwriting. " Note: 'The Ivory Necklace was carved by Ernst Schmidt at Bad Flinsberg - a friend of C. G. Ernst.'" - Elisabeth M. Hanson, Donor, 1/8/2006 12/16/2005: "Doug stated in examing this piece that it does not have the usual apperance of ivory. " - Douglas Brewer, Director, 11/15/2005 11/7/2005: "per letter in source/donor files. “My mother told me that this, and several other pieces of jewelry, were purchased by her father at a bank estate sale. From his life history, I can only guess that he probably purchased them sometime between 1900 and 1925, at a bank in Omaha, Nebraska, when he was assistant treasurer of the Burlington Railroad west of Mississippi. My grandfather C. J. Ernst, emigrated with his parents and younger sister from the Goerlitz area, now Germany, when he was not quite 14, arriving in the U.S. in May 1868. He had been trained in “mental” math, and by the time he was 18 he was working as a bank teller in Nebraska City. At 21, he married and moved to Lincoln to work for the Burlington Railroad Land Office. Later he moved to Omaha and became assistant treasurer for the railroad. He served one term as president of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, and accompanied Theodore Roosevelt on a train tour in the West, representing the railroad. On his death in 1932, the ivory jewelry came to my mother, Grace Ernst Miller, in Columbia, Missouri. At some point, she gave it to me. It was just too large and ornate for me to use, so I had a jeweler separate the pendant cross from the chain, thinking I could use the chain. But I never did use it, parly because display of objects made of ivory was then being frowned upon by conservationists. I think we cannot be certain, even, that it was made in America, since emigrants often returned to Europe to visit their place of origin...Elisabeth M. Hanson, October 30, 2005”" - Elisabeth Hanson, Donor, 10/30/2005 10/3/2005: "Acquired in Oklahoma by one of her relatives circa 1920’s, so must be older than that.” - Elisabeth M. Hanson, donor, 9/22/2005 | |
| Comparanda | N/A | |
| Bibliography | N/A | |
Artifact History |
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| Archaeological Data | N/A | |
| Credit Line/Dedication | ||
| Reproduction | N/A | |
| Reproduction Information | N/A | |