The Guide Sacagawea: Recontextualizing Their First View of the Pacific
Julia Rabius examines the history and 2021 removal of Charles Keck’s 1919 Charlottesville monument, long criticized for depicting Sacagawea crouching behind Lewis and Clark, and proposes a recontexualitation plan for the museum that now houses the scultpure.
Teufel im Glas– Devil in Glass: Religious Relic or Kunstkammer Object
Julia Rabius investigates the Teufel im Glas ("Devil Trapped in Glass"), a 17th-century glass prism in Vienna encasing a black humanoid figure, documented in a 1720 imperial inventory as an exorcised spirit. By evaluating 17th-century glassmaking constraints alongside early modern exorcism practices, Rabius argues the artifact was not produced during an actual religious ritual, but was instead crafted as a Kunstkammer curiosity object (mirabilia) designed to intrigue wealthy collectors during a period of intense fascination with the supernatural.
