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Carved Box with Lid
American artist
United States
Object Type:
Woodwork
Medium and Support:
Wood
Credit Line:
Bequest of Isabel C. Herdle
Accession Number:
2005.157a-b
Location: Not currently on view
This elaborately carved box was bequeathed to the Memorial Art Gallery by Isabel Herdle, long-time MAG curator and daughter of the gallery’s first director George Herdle. The only record accompanying it was Ms. Herdle’s recollection that it was purchased in an antique shop in Buffalo, New York.
Since its arrival at the gallery in 2005, over twenty curators, conservators and historians have viewed photos of the box. Although they all agree that this is an extraordinary object, no consensus has been achieved on its origin; suggestions have ranged from American to Norwegian to German to Ethiopian. As of this date, the most compelling theory is that the artist was a Palatine German living in the New York frontier during the late 18th century. The imagery is clearly narrative and may depict the devastating battles and attacks involving the Palatine Germans and the Iroquois Confederacy during the American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley. Research that will support or disprove this hypothesis is underway. In 2010 the wood will be scientifically analyzed to determine origin and age.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Since its arrival at the gallery in 2005, over twenty curators, conservators and historians have viewed photos of the box. Although they all agree that this is an extraordinary object, no consensus has been achieved on its origin; suggestions have ranged from American to Norwegian to German to Ethiopian. As of this date, the most compelling theory is that the artist was a Palatine German living in the New York frontier during the late 18th century. The imagery is clearly narrative and may depict the devastating battles and attacks involving the Palatine Germans and the Iroquois Confederacy during the American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley. Research that will support or disprove this hypothesis is underway. In 2010 the wood will be scientifically analyzed to determine origin and age.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Additional Images
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- An Animal Hunt in Art 4/7/1951 - 4/29/1951
- Auditorium Corridor exhibition 11/18/2009 - 3/23/2010
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios: