Docent Randy Hans returns with a guest post about this notable collection object.
Visitors to the Rosen House Music Room often ask me about the sailing ship (shown below) that hangs from a bracket near the Music Room stage. To better answer their questions, I began my research with Jessa Krick, Rosen House Director of Interpretation, Collection, and Archives, who provided some images from the Rosen House archives.
The archives include the original August 20, 1937, invoice from Edward F. Caldwell & Co. Inc., “Makers of Gas & Electric Light Fixtures. Ornamental Brass & Wrought Iron Work” located at 36-38-40 West 15th Street in New York City to Walter Rosen for “#189 – repoussed copper sailing ship, finished in antique copper” for his “Katonah Residence.” The number “189” references the rough sketch which is annotated “Music room East wall” – opposite its current location. This preliminary sketch by an unknown hand (similar rough sketches appear in Caldwell & Co.’s order books), depicts a simplified, even whimsical representation of a sailing vessel.
Why did Walter engage this firm for the project? Caldwell & Company emerged as a premier electric lighting designer and ornamental metalwork manufacturer during the Gilded Age. They were known for uniting electric lighting – an emerging technology at the time – with historical forms and high-quality craftsmanship. The firm, founded in 1895, was a partnership between Edward F. Caldwell (1851-1914) and Victor F. von Lossberg (1853-1942). Their clients were the leading architects and institutions of the era. Notable projects included the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, and the White House. At its peak, the company employed more than a thousand highly trained craftsmen. The firm continued operations until 1959. The Rosens became Caldwell clients in the late 1910s with objects for their Manhattan townhouse, then for Caramoor, their Katonah residence, in the 1930s. The Rosen House today displays more than one hundred light fixtures, champlevé enamels, large grilles, and decorative objects by Caldwell & Company.
The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Library, part of the Smithsonian Institution, features a collection of designs from Edward F. Caldwell & Company. The collection includes binders of photographs of their completed works, such as the highly detailed model ship (shown below) which may have influenced the design of the sailing ship commissioned by Walter Rosen.
Why did Walter commission a hanging sailing ship for the Music Room? Ornamental hanging sailing ships were common in churches in maritime communities in Scandinavia and Europe since the 15th century. These ship models, donated by sailors and shipbuilders and known as “votive ships or “church ships,” would hang from the ceiling of the church, often with their bows pointed toward the altar. Each donation was a token of gratitude for a safe journey, an offering before an upcoming voyage, a memorial to lives lost at sea, or simply a reminder of the sea’s importance to the community. For some, the ships symbolized the church itself, providing guidance along the journey of faith. The Music Room reminds some visitors of a church, due to its scale, stained-glass windows, and Christian-themed art objects. It could be considered a temple to music. A votive ship does not seem out of place in this room.
This ship likely represents a carrack, widely used in Europe – particularly in Portugal and Spain – during the 15th and 16th centuries. Carracks were built to be stable in rough seas and to carry large cargoes over long distances – ideal for exploration and trade. They typically had 3 or 4 masts, a capacious hull and raised stern, square and sometimes “lateen” (triangular) sails, and fore and aft “castles” (superstructures.) Notable examples of carracks include Columbus’s Santa Maria and Magellan’s Victoria.
Since air travel to Europe did not become common until after World War II, ocean liners carried the Rosens to and from Europe for business, family visits, and leisure. The choice of a carrack from the “Age of Exploration” may have symbolized the journey of Walter Rosen’s family in the 1880s from Europe’s Old World to the United States. It may have represented Walter Rosen’s spiritual journey from Judaism to the Episcopal religion. It may have served as a memorial to Walter’s father, Max Tower Rosen, who died of heart disease during a particularly turbulent ocean crossing on The Deutschland from Hamburg, Germany, to New York in October 1901.
Why Walter Rosen commissioned this sailing ship remains a mystery, but is a notable feature of the Rosen House and of the Music Room. Have you taken note of the shop during a Music Room concert? What does this sailing ship represent for you? Share your impressions during your next docent-led tour, open house, concert, or tea in the Music Room at the Rosen House.
Thanks, Randy! Please note we are seeking to add new Rosen House docents to our team of volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a docent, contact Giancarlo Anastasio, Guest & Volunteer Services Manager, giancarlo@caramoor.org