Flag Holder

Unidentified, Flag Holder, 19th century, carved and painted wood, 20 ⁷⁄₈ x 14 ¹⁄₄ x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (53.0 x 36.2 x 8.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.80

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Flag Holder
Artist: Unidentified
Date: 19th century
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 20 ⁷⁄₈ x 14 ¹⁄₄ x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (53.0 x 36.2 x 8.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: wood
Mediums Description: carved and painted wood
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Object — other — flag
Object Number: 1986.65.80
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.80

Artwork Description

Artists often decorate flag holders with patriotic symbols and colors. In this piece, made in the nineteenth century, the artist painted three stars around two crossed American flags. The flag on the right has twenty-one stars, while the other has twenty-two. This may symbolize the twenty-first and twenty-second states, Illinois and Alabama, who joined the Union in 1818 and 1819.