The Friends of the Hower House Victorian House Museum announce the opening of a new exhibition in a series of upcoming decorative arts events. This first exhibition, “John Jeliff Comes to the Hower House: The American Renaissance Revival,” will be on view May 1-June 30 at the museum, 60 Fir Hill, on the campus of The University of Akron. An opening reception and lecture is scheduled for Saturday, April 29, at 6 pm, and includes a presentation by nationally known collector and researcher Peter Avrea, who will speak on the subject of the exhibition.

The exhibition begins in the east parlor and will feature a newly discovered and rare seven-piece suite of circa 1870 Renaissance Revival-style parlor furniture made by the famous furniture firm of John Jeliff & Company of Newark, N.J. Complementing the suite will be an assortment of period parlor pieces never before seen in public. The exhibition ends in the dining room with the display of a documented sideboard made by the noted firm of Berkey & Gay of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

John Jeliff apprenticed as a cabinetmaker at the age of 14 in New York City. Later, he became a journeyman, and in 1843 he opened his own business in Newark. His furniture employs a lush use of woods and is exquisitely carved with busts of Columbia, large crests, classical urns and other Renaissance Revival elements. Because of the very high quality of his work, Jeliff has become one of the most revered cabinetmakers of the Victorian era.

The American Renaissance Revival style of furniture was fashionable in the Victorian era, from 1860 through 1875. It is characterized by the use of decorative design elements found in ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian architecture, and by its heavy, large scale, buildinglike effect.

This is a unique opportunity to view the opulent furnishings of the 1870s, and enjoy a reception and lecture about Jeliff and the American Renaissance Revival style. Tickets to the reception are $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers. For further information or to purchase tickets, 330-972-6909.