Pennsylvania - Sculptures and Carvings

A tall nickel over brass French glove form mold sculpture presented on an iron stand.

1950's or 60's Brillo Pad Boxes in a "as found Metal Milk Crate". Salute or inspired by Andy Warhol! Period Boxes found as is in a basement in Phila...

Tall cat animal sculpture by Brazilian Artist Abraham Palatnik, Lucite bold graphic details. In very nice condition. Retains made in Brazil label,...

Vintage handmade welded object. Unsigned. Almost a dark mint green color. The welds are apparent and have texture. Very interesting piece.

Swiss lion of lucerne relief carving plaque. Wood appears to be Walnut - in very good original condition. "The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal)...

Carved wooden cane, made of rosewood, with a substantially sized head of an American Bison at the knuckle. The great artistic interpretation has wonderful folk qualities. The handle ...

Vintage Folk Art cast metal glove molds, The 1950s-60s The thick hollow Aluminum molds are of the left and right hands. They are now mounted on a recta...

An early twentieth century whimsical folk art bird tree having six carved and painted wood birds each in different poses and mounted on wire legs to...

Carved wooden eagle with substantial scale, form, and presence. Made sometime between approximately 1830 and 1850 (though possibly prior), the elongated head, bent hard to its proper...

Hand-painted and built metal flower. Signed and dated Tokis, 1989. Greek Artist who lived and worked in New Orleans. Attention to detail is amazing!

Carved eagle by George Stapf, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an exceptional example with two outstretched American flags and a federal shield, one of just two known examples with commerci...

Carved eagle from the shop of John Haley Bellamy, unusual in grey paint, with elongated format and his traditional “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP” streamer, circa 1890-1905: Carved wooden eagle, attributed to the shop of the most renowned, American, 19th century carver of the form, John Haley Bellamy (1836-1914). A prolific artisan and entrepreneur, who considered himself more the former than the latter, this is one of Bellamy’s bread and butter forms, sold as decoration for ship stern boards, to be hung above the entry doors of private homes and businesses, or for any other location, indoors or out, on boats or on land, where patriotic adornment was desired. An example of a Bellamy carving in this style appears on page 73 of "American Eagle: The Bold and Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy,” by Smith, Yvonne Brault, (2014, Portsmouth Marine Society). A printed sketch of a very similar form appears on the cover page. Although Bellamy’s career as a carver began in his boyhood town of Kittery, Maine in the 1850’s, he appears to have carved his first Stand-alone eagles (those not a part of something else) in the fall of 1872, when, working from a home base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he did so for a man by the name of Oscar Leighton on the Isles of Shoals, which bridge the border between New Hampshire and his home state of Maine. He reproduced one of the two carvings to have on hand to sell, then began producing others and selling them all over the greater Portsmouth area. By 1873 he had carved so many that he exclaimed, “If I stay here a short time longer [I] shall have them [eagles] over every door.” (Smith, p. 21). Renting bench space at first in Portsmouth and working alongside other carvers, then his own space at 17-18 Daniel Street, Bellamy established production-line methods in order to turn out carvings in quantity. Smith describes them as being “like snowflakes in a storm, alike but different” (p. 37). Bellamy was a drunk, known to be temperamental, which no-doubt led to further variation. Many of Bellamy’s eagles are gilded. Some painted white. Most are decorated in red, white, and blue, and sometimes black. This example is unusual due to its grey-painted ground. I have seen grey examples previously, but they are not the norm. Because his works were both commissioned and produced for stock, anything was possible. Trimmed in Navy blue and red, with a red mouth, tongue, eye, and nostril, the colors and the surface of this particular bird are especially attractive. Present is the most common text that appears on any Bellamy eagle, “Don’t Give Up The Ship.” These are the words of American ship Captain James Lawrence (1781–1813), uttered during the War of 1812, while mortally wounded aboard his ship, the U.S.S. Chesapeake, at the Battle of Lake Erie. Probably made sometime between roughly 1890 and 1905, the most profound feature of this example is the exaggerated, elongated profile that allows it to fit in a very narrow space. This adds a great measure of folk quality to the already beautiful, flowing form. Condition: There are two repaired breaks, strengthened on the reverse with three mending plates. There is very minor bleeding of the blue pigment into the grey in limited areas. There are very minor losses. Brief History of Bellamy as a Wood Carver & Shipwright: John Bellamy...