Crown of Thorns Construction

Unidentified, Crown of Thorns Construction, carved, incised, and jigsawed wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.52
Copied Unidentified, Crown of Thorns Construction, carved, incised, and jigsawed wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.52
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Artwork Details

Title
Crown of Thorns Construction
Artist
Unidentified
Location
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.
Mediums Description
carved, incised, and jigsawed wood
Classifications
Keywords
  • Object — furniture — chair
  • Emblem — cross
Object Number
1998.84.52
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.84.52

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 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).