Collection Highlights
I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance
Date:
1864
Object Number:
PR.011.5
Medium:
Albumen print mounted on card (Carte de Visite)
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Woodcarving (owl)
Object Number:
INV.7962
Date:
ca. 1890-1920
Medium:
Wood, paint
Dimensions:
Overall: 4 x 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 in. ( 10.2 x 4.1 x 4.1 cm )
Marks:
incised on base: "AWM"
Description:
Carved wooden owl on low, roughly square base; painted brown with spots of yellow.
Gallery Label:
This woodcarving is tentatively attributed to Aaron Mountz, a Pennsylvania folk carver who worked in the tradition of Wilhelm Schimmel. Mountz probably produced less than fifty works, of which perhaps only a dozen or so survive. He typically left his carvings unpainted. However, some, it seems, were painted later by subsequent owners.
Bibliography:
Black, Mary C., "Make believe and make do: American children's toys," Antiques, December 1962, pp. 620-623.
Christensen, Erwin O., The Index of American Design. New York, Macmillan, 1950, pp. 135-137.
Flower, Milton E., "Aaron Mountz, Primitive Woodcarver," Antiques, June 1960, pp. 586-587.
Flower, Milton E., "Wilhelm Schimmel and Aaron Mountz wood carvers," [exhibition catalog], Williamsburg, Va. : Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 1965.
Lichten, Frances. Folk Art of Rural Pennsylvania. New York, C. Scribner's sons; London, C. Scribner's sons, ltd., 1946. p. 115.
Credit Line:
Purchased from Elie Nadelman
Provenance:
The Folk Art Collection of Elie Nadelman
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
