Richard Posner Marbles in Birdcage Reliquary

Title: 
Richard Posner Marbles in Birdcage Reliquary

Notice of Upcoming Content and Access Change

The Museum is working on the future of our online collections access. A new version will be available later in 2023. During this transition period, the current version of the Collections Browser may have reduced functionality and data may be not be updated. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. For any questions or concerns, please contact us.

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Object Name: 
Reliquary
Title: 
Richard Posner Marbles in Birdcage Reliquary
Accession Number: 
2012.4.83
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 23 cm, Diam (max): 16.2 cm; Largest Marble Diam (max): 4.2 cm; Smallest Marble Diam (max): 2.3 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
2011
Credit Line: 
Gift of Ralph and Eugenia Potkin, Petra Korink, and Richard Marquis
Web Description: 
The American artist Richard Posner (1948–2011) worked in blown and stained glass and mixed media. His specialty was large outdoor public projects, and his artwork and installations were characterized by their intelligent content and plays on words, themes, and materials. One of his stained glass panels is on display in the Museum’s Modern Glass Gallery. After Posner’s death, two of his longtime friends—the artists Therman Statom and Buster Simpson—convinced Marquis to make marbles that incorporated Posner’s cremated remains as a tribute to him. Many artists who work with glass would like this to be their fate, and Posner would have appreciated the humor, irony, and poetry of it. Simpson and Statom later contacted the Museum, because they believed that it was important for some of the Posner marbles to go to Corning. While this may seem to be an odd request, it is actually very fitting, because American studio glass artists have a high regard for The Corning Museum of Glass, and they see it as a “home.” The marbles were donated to the Museum by Posner’s ex-wife, by the executors of Posner’s estate, and by Marquis.
Provenance: 
Marquis, Richard (American, b. 1945), Source
2011
to
2012-02-20
Potkin, Eugenia, Source
2011
to
2012-02-20
Potkin, Ralph, Source
2011
to
2012-02-20
Inscription: 
2010 Marquis
signature
Scratched on base of birdcage
Primary Description: 
"Richard Posner Marbles in Birdcage Reliquary". Colorless, red, white, blue, yellow, and brown glass, human ashes, found brass birdcage, found paint-by-number painting fragment; blown, assembled. 48 colorless marbles decorated with multicolored spiraling trail decoration and specks of ash. 4 large marbles, 21 medium-sized marbles, and 23 small marbles. Marbles are placed within a found brass birdcage reliquary with a paint-by-number painting fragment inserted in base.
Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library
Venue(s)
Rakow Library, Corning Museum of Glass 2017-04-08 through 2018-02-17
From advertisements for glass eyes to patents for preserving the dead in glass; from glasshouse dollars to drawings by worldfamous artists such as Salvador Dali and Georgia O’Keeffe. These are some of the rarely seen wonders in Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library. Artists, researchers, authors, and glass enthusiasts of all kinds use the Rakow Library’s holdings to learn more about glass, which often leads to voyages of discovery in unexpected directions. Come discover how the rare collections and curiosities in the Rakow Library have inspired others and how they can inspire you.
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2013-02-16 through 2014-02-02
This exhibition is part of the Corning Museum’s ongoing Masters of Studio Glass series developed to provide a platform for in-depth surveys of artists represented in the Museum’s permanent collection.
 
Curators' Perspectives (2019) illustrated, p. 239; BIB# 720426
Recent Important Acquisitions from Collections Worldwide (2019) illustrated, p. 239; BIB# 720473
New Glass Now: 40th-Anniversary Issue of New Glass Review (2019) illustrated, p. 239;