Thursday, August 1, 2013

Mrs. Davis Did Not Arrive Empty-Handed...

Now that the quilt controversy has been "put to bed" (no pun intended) I want to share some of the  things that Mrs. Davis brought with her to Montgomery from Brierfield, their plantation home near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when their family lived in the First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery.
 
In the First Parlor (first room on left as you enter) are four Brass Rococo Cornices that Mrs. Davis reportedly brought  from Brierfield, as well as a three piece gilt-brass girandole set that sits on the mantle.
 
In the Second Parlor is another set of Window Cornices and a Mahogany table that was among their possessions at Brierfield. 
 
The third room on the left is the beautiful and stately Dining Room, in which we find  six pieces of Havilland China which belonged to Mrs. Davis.
 
Across the back hall is President Davis's Study, which contains a pair of Irish drawn lace curtains Varina brought to Montgomery. They are preserved in in a tall library bookcase.
 
There are other pieces with Davis connections that I will discuss tomorrow as well as things original to the House that would have been there when the Davises lived in the House, during that short spring of 1861 before moving to Richmond.
 

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