Summer

Part of a set of four allegorical personifications of the seasons, this ivory figurine represents "Summer." In one arm she holds a sheaf of wheat, a summer crop, invoking the natural abundance associated with the season. Her other hand holds the hollow handle of what was probably once a scythe, although the blade has been lost.

It is traditional for artistic depictions of the four seasons to represent each phase of the year through agricultural activities, such as sowing or harvesting crops. crushing grapes for wine, or shearing sheep. Allegorical personifications, like saints, are often associated with a distinctive prop which signals their identity to the viewer and conveys a message about the concept that they represent. This figure amalgamates these two conventions. Her sheaf and scythe represent the labors of Summer, but her cheerful expression and half-draped body suggest the ease, pleasure, and sensuality also associated with the season.

In 1914, the ivory figure representing "Autumn" was donated to the Art Museum (CAM 1914.4). At some point after 1937, the two ivory figures representing "Winter" and "Spring" which completed the set at Cranbrook House were removed from the Booth home, possibly given as gifts to George and Ellen’s children. Such transfers were not uncommon, as objects moved frequently between Cranbrook House, Cranbrook Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Art and other family homes in the area, as the Booths sought to distribute their collection where it would be of most benefit to others.

Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
January 2024