A23: Virginia Drawing Room, 1754 c. 1940

This miniature Virginia Drawing Room, dated 1754, was crafted by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, a master of small worlds. The interior, a symphony of pale blues and reds, speaks of colonial elegance, but look closer and you might notice a birdcage, an intriguing presence. The birdcage, often a symbol of the soul, or even imprisonment, appears throughout art history. Remember the caged bird in Renaissance paintings, representing the captive soul longing for freedom, later, Edgar Allan Poe used it to express a morbid metaphor for confinement. This motif reminds us of its duality. Here, its presence invites us to reflect on the complexities of colonial life, and the psychological tensions between freedom and captivity. Symbols like these persist, evolving through cultural memory, echoing in new forms.