Flag Holder

Unidentified, Flag Holder, 19th century, carved and painted wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.80
Copied 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
Mediums Description
carved and painted wood
Classifications
Keywords
  • 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.