Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Of Whalers and Witches: Salem

Today is Halloween, so it would seem the perfect day to talk about Salem, Massachusetts, the other place I stopped on my trip last week. Unfortunately by talking about Salem on Halloween I'm perpetuating the stereotype that I despise, which is that Salem is the city of witchcraft.

Yes, women were hanged for witchcraft in Salem in the 17th century, but they weren't witches, and I think it a shame that beautiful old-fashioned Salem should be ever after labelled for one tragic thing that happened there. Ironically, today there is a large population of Wiccans, modern day "witches" that live in Salem because of its relationship to the long-ago witch hunts. Nowadays, you can't walk down the street in Salem without seeing witch-related merchandise in store windows, the Museum of Witchcraft, witch-tours of the city, etc. What about Salem's history as a seaport? It's thriving furniture business? The artists and craftspeople who lived there and produced some of the finest goods in America during the 17th and 18th centuries? Forget witches--I would rather spend my time at the phenomenal Peabody Essex Museum.

Currently they have an exhibition of the work of Samuel McIntire, who was America's finest carver of the mid-18th century. In a country without sculptors, he carved such things as chair backs, fireplace mantels, finials, figureheads for ships, busts of famous people, and all types of other decorative ornaments for both inside and outdoors. He was also an architect-designer, who entered the competition to design the U.S. Capitol building. Extremely prolific and famous for his carving, he also found time to be a professional musician, giving music lessons and performances. Truly a renaissance man, the exhibition of his long and rich career is a masterpiece of museum display.

Another interesting and permanent exhibition at the Peabody-Essex is Yin Yu Tang, a Chinese house built in 1800 and moved in its entirety from China to Salem. Reconstructed meticulously in every detail, entering this house is like being transported back in time and to the other side of the world at once. The house of a well-to-do merchant, it was built in observance of feng shui principles, with large formal rooms downstairs that serve as receiving rooms and places to worship ancestors. An open atrium with fish pools forms the center of the house. Upstairs are many bedrooms, to house a large extended family. The rooms are furnished with the original Chinese furniture owned by the family, and everything down to the 19th century acupuncture charts on the wall, and the clothing laid out on the bed, are authentic. Signs of the Chinese cultural revolution under Mao are evident, as in the propaganda box mounted on the wall in the large downstairs room. Every house was required to have one of these boxes installed so that everyone would hear what Mao was saying--they couldn't turn it off.

It was so interesting to compare Yin Yu Tang to the nearby Garner-Pingree house, which was built in Salem in 1804. During this time, China was emerging as a major source of trade with Europe and America, and Salem would have been a major port for incoming ships laden with goods from the far East, ensuring the wealth of both American and Chinese merchants.

I didn't have enough time in Salem to see everything I wanted to see. The Peabody Essex Museum is incredible! I briefly looked at its permanent collection of early American art and furniture, which includes one of the first organs made in America. I was enthralled by the displays of model ships and paintings that had to do with the sea-trade and sailor life. The interior of America's first private ocean-going yacht "Cleopatra's Barge" is recreated within the museum, complete with the watercolor homage to the cat Pompeii, who died at sea in 1817 or so. I especially loved the sketchbooks on display, made by sailors during their long voyages, and the scrimshaw they made by decorating whale teeth or walrus tusks in etched designs. One had a poem, "Death to the living, long life to the killers. Success to sailors wives & greasy luck to whalers." There is something so magical and adventurous about the sea--I'm constantly fascinated by stories of sailors and sea-life, especially during the old days before coal and machine powered ships.

There wasn't enough time to see the photography exhibit, or the glass, or any of the rest of the museum. Someday I'll have to go back with much more time to wander. However, I saw enough to know that the Peabody Essex Museum is a fantastic place, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Also, next time I go to Salem I will visit Nathaniel Hawthorne's "House of Seven Gables," which is just down the street.

As for Halloween in New York? I'm going to visit the Met, do my homework, go for a run in the sunshine, and then stay in tonight, safe from ghouls, with no tricks but a few treats on hand.

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