Door-ring 1850 - 1900

Editor: So, this piece is simply titled "Door-ring." It’s dated sometime between 1850 and 1900, we don't know the artist unfortunately, and it now lives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It seems to be a watercolor and coloured pencil drawing of, well, a door ring. I’m struck by how…ordinary, yet also elegant it is. What catches your eye? Curator: Ordinary, yes, but think of the symbolism imbued in a doorway! It's more than just access; it’s a threshold between worlds, a chance, a challenge...This ring, perfectly captured in watercolor, feels weighty with all those untold stories, wouldn't you agree? I keep wondering which hands held this particular ring… What do you think the artist wanted us to consider about thresholds or even perhaps barriers? Editor: That's interesting! I hadn't considered that. The way the ring seems so solid, juxtaposed with the lighter wood tones of the door...a barrier seems spot on! Do you think that was a common thing to contemplate during this period? Curator: Absolutely! Mid-19th century Europe was wrestling with huge shifts: industrialization, urbanization...Society was rapidly transforming and that sense of progress pushing against tradition manifested itself across creative disciplines. Doors become symbols; promises, constraints. Tell me, does that change how you perceive it at all? Editor: It really does! The image is much more powerful to me now. I thought it was just a drawing of a doorknob, but it's so much more complex. Curator: Precisely! That is where its mystery rests and where its appeal resonates still. There’s a certain romantic yearning, perhaps, hidden beneath that metal and wood. We might all stand on thresholds daily but how many choose to notice? Food for thought, eh?