This property changed hands many times over two centuries, transactions that included at least one contraction (waterfront sold to Samuel Keyser for keeping of the Kestrel), and at least three acquisitions and mergers (waterfront reconnected and backlands acquired from Greystone and from Tart.) As we reflect on our connection to Rosslyn over almost two decades, I ponder the question and importance of provenance.
Some considerations of provenance are better left to titles and deeds, while others invite amateur archeological sleuthing. The various ownership interests in Rosslyn falls into the former catch-all. And the latter includes artifacts like the brass belt buckle inscribed W.D. Ross Essex that was discovered by Scott Brayden’s magical metal detector in Rosslyn’s yard.
But property and provenance mingle through subtler storytelling as well.
Provenance traces the lineage of an item, often through documentation like sales receipts, exhibition records, or ownership entries. (Source: Secoda)
I’d like to dabble a little further in future posts, but for today a quick consideration of the many influences and inspirations that have shaped our slow rehab of Rosslyn.
In the autumn of 2022 I came across Jo Packham‘s quarterly, Women Create. The cover of the November 15, 2022 issue showcased an article, “Making Rugs That Are Unmistakably Art”, about rug maker Deanne Fitzpatrick (hookingrugs.com). Photographed by Meagan Cormier, the article includes several images (in addition to the cover photo at the top of this post) that immediately grabbed my attention.
They joined others in a scrapbook folder of images and ideas that helped me articulate and demonstrate some of what I aspired to create in the icehouse loft.
These photographs offered context to an expose on Fitzpatrick’s rug making studio. But they grabbed my attention — likely from a stack of magazines being read by Susan — because they offered me a glimpse at what I envisioned for the quirky little utility barn standing to the north of Rosslyn’s carriage barn.
And so I offer these scraps as small insights into the lineage that now has become the icehouse. Perhaps I’ll come across some of the others as well soon…
What do you think?