Cutwork Eagle and Temperance Picture

Description:

Cutwork Eagle and Temperance Picture, attributed to Isaac Stiehly, Mohantongo Valley, Pennsylvania, c. 1835, elaborate scherensnitte with the inscription "Temperance is Wisdom" above a spreadwing eagle supporting the shaft of an American flag, its talons grasping a serpent, above a pair of billing doves in a heart, all surrounded by flowering branches and with corner rosettes, the flag and serpent heightened with watercolor, mounted against black paper, 8 x 12 1/4 in., in a period molded wood frame.

Note: The backing is a affixed with an undated article with a photo of a similar cutwork, sold at Christie's New York some time ago, which was done by Isaac Stiehly of Mohantongo Valley, Pennsylvania.

A similar example was exhibited in Outward Signs of Inner Beliefs: Symbols of American Patriotism, a bicentennial exhibit of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York, 1975, p. 34.
Estimate $3,500-5,000

Keywords