The Museum at Dumbarton Oaks

"In addition to its beautiful gardens, the historic Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C. houses an impressive collection of Byzantine and pre-Columbian artifacts, as well as ancient Greco-Roman and medieval European artworks. It is also home to a controversial fertility idol that may be familiar to movie aficionados. Known as the Dumbarton Oaks Birthing Figure, the artifact is sculpted from scapolite and measuring about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in height. It depicts a woman in the middle of childbirth, squatting with an eerie expression of agony on her face and a baby popping out from between her legs. The idol was considered to be of Aztec origin, circa 900-1521 AD, and believed to represent Tlazolteotl, the goddess of vice, purification and lust.  The artifact’s provenance goes as far back as to 1899, when it was first mentioned by anthropologist Ernest-Théodore Hamy, who had seen it in an antique store in Paris. Sometime later, it was purchased by French obstetrician and collector Alban Ribemont-Dessaignes, and then acquired by Robert Woods Bliss, the founder of the Dumbarton Oaks museum, in 1947. For decades, the Birthing Figure has been a subject of controversy and debate. While some believe it to be a rare piece of pre-Columbian art, many researchers question its authenticity, suggesting that it was actually produced in the 19th century as an idealized representation of Aztec art. Like crystal skulls, the craftsmanship visible on this artifact is often anachronistic, and it is likely that then-modern tools were used to sculpt it. Furthermore, birthing women are usually found in Colonial Mexican manuscripts, but rather uncommon in Aztec art. If you have seen the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, however, you might appreciate its value whether it’s a genuine artifact or not. The Dumbarton Oaks Birthing Figure inspired the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol, the fictitious artifact that Indy (almost) obtains in the movie’s iconic opening sequence, set in Peru instead of Mexico. This “golden idol” has also become an icon in modern cinema culture." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"This stunning estate with sprawling formal gardens wouldn’t look out of place in one of the grand old European capitals. Instead, the opulent brick-walled property sits on the hills above Washington, D.C., now housing a Harvard research library and one of the most under-appreciated museum collections in town. If you’ve heard of Dumbarton Oaks before it is likely vis-a-vis its connection with the 1944 conference that lead to the formation of the United Nations. For 47 days during the end stages of World War II, allied diplomats hashed out postwar objectives and rifle-toting guards patrolled the grounds. Today the estate has traded geopolitical conflict for academics and the arts. The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and collection holds stunning exhibitions of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art, a collection of medieval and Renaissance art and furniture, and an immaculately landscaped garden. The original mansion has been expanded with several new wings, and each section has its own distinct design. The Byzantine art is housed in a Greek-inspired space complete with columns and mosaics; the pre-Columbian work in an elegantly finished modern space full of glass and light; and the medieval and Renaissance work is in a display space that was a part of the original residence. The land that Dumbarton Oaks sits on was once part of the Rock of Dumbarton grant that Queen Anne made to Ninian Beall in 1701. Around a century later, the first house was built on the property, and it was greatly expanded and renamed The Oaks in the middle of the 19th century. Among The Oaks’ notable residents was Vice President John C. Calhoun, who actually lived in the house during his first term in office. In 1920, Mildred and Robert Wood Bliss bought the property, and christened it Dumbarton Oaks in reference to its two historic names. According to the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the design of the estate’s gardens “is the result of a decades-long partnership between landscape gardener Beatrix Farrand and her client, Mildred Bliss.” Farrand, a founding member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, took inspiration from Italian Renaissance gardens while designing terraced flower gardens that transitioned into a more naturalistic landscape. The Bliss family gradually expanded the property to the 54 acres it occupies today. They also collected the artwork on display today, and donated the upper 16 acres to Harvard University upon their deaths." - ATLAS_OBSCURA