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Exhibition History“American Folk Art: Collection from the Fenimore Art Museum,” Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, January 25, 2001 – March 24, 2001.
Artist
Unidentified Artist
(American)
Mariner with a Telescope
Datec. 1830
MediumPainted wood
DimensionsOverall: 26 × 9 1/2 in. (66 × 24.1 cm)
Object numberN0157.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextCarved images representing specific trades usually hung or stood outside 18th- and 19th-century shops while smaller ones occasionally stood on countertops or in the window. They were a continuation of an ancient European tradition that enabled a largely illiterate population to identify the nature of the merchandise for sale within. This figure served as a trade sign for a chandler or a nautical instrument maker possibly in southern New England. A variety of objects were used to symbolize the maritime trades, the most common being the quadrant, telescope, octant, globe, and sun.Exhibition History“American Folk Art: Collection from the Fenimore Art Museum,” Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, January 25, 2001 – March 24, 2001.
On View
On view
