Cigar Box” Crucifix

Copied Unidentified, "Cigar Box" Crucifix, ca. 1880-1920, carved and varnished wood with ivory figure and porcelain knobs, 20 3810 583 58 in. (51.826.99.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.91
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Artwork Details

Title
Cigar Box” Crucifix
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1880-1920
Dimensions
20 3810 583 58 in. (51.826.99.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums Description
carved and varnished wood with ivory figure and porcelain knobs
Classifications
Keywords
  • Religion — New Testament — Christ
  • Religion — New Testament — Crucifixion
Object Number
1986.65.91

Artwork Description

“Tramp” art was created from old cigar boxes by tradesmen at the turn of the twentieth century. Craftsmen chip-carved the edges of pieces of wood and layered them together to create furniture, sculptures, and religious objects. The Crown of Thorns Construction (see 1998.84.52) is named because of the interlocking construction technique, which was supposed to represent Jesus’s crown when he was crucified (Helaine Fendelman, Tramp Art, 1975). These objects were not made by vagrants, but by traveling printers, carpenters, and cigar makers who “tramped” from city to city advertising their skills (Lynda Hartigan, Made with Passion, 1990).