Odd Fellows Shelf and Mirror

John Haley Bellamy, Odd Fellows Shelf and Mirror, ca. 1850-1900, carved and painted wood with mirrored glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.84A-C
John Haley Bellamy, Odd Fellows Shelf and Mirror, ca. 1850-1900, carved and painted wood with mirrored glass, 35 3⁄8 x 29 7⁄8 x 7 3⁄8 in. (89.8 x 75.8 x 18.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.84A-C
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Artwork Details

Title
Odd Fellows Shelf and Mirror
Artist
Attributed to John Haley Bellamy
Date
ca. 1850-1900
Location
Dimensions
35 3⁄8 x 29 7⁄8 x 7 3⁄8 in. (89.8 x 75.8 x 18.7 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 with mirrored glass
Classifications
Object Number
1986.65.84A-C
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.84A-C

Artwork Description

This shelf was probably made for a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Organizations like the Freemasons and Odd Fellows often decorated objects with fraternal symbols to remind members of their commitment to the brotherhood. In this piece the three pillars and the three-link chain represent the Odd Fellows motto---"Friendship, Love, and Truth." Only members of the order understood the symbolism of the serpent, staff, horn, and tent.

Works by this artist (33 items)

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William H. Jackson, Interior of a Hopi Dwelling, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1985.66.806
Interior of a Hopi Dwelling
Artist
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Yellowstone National Park, 1873-1879, photographs, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1989.66.1.1-85
Yellowstone National Park
Artist
Date1873-1879
photographs
Not on view
Image Not Available
Summit of Pike’s Peak
Artist
Dateca.1880
albumen print, mounted on cardboard
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Grand Cañon of the Colorado, ca. 1880, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.85
Grand Cañon of the Colorado
Artist
Dateca. 1880
albumen silver print
Not on view

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Unidentified (American?), (Untitled--Two Girls), ca. 1875, mechanical reproduction on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.807
(Untitled – Two Girls)
Artist
Unidentified (American?)
Dateca. 1875
mechanical reproduction on paper
Not on view
Henry Wolf, Robert William Vonnoh, Phoebe, 1892, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.74
Phoebe
Artist
Date1892
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view
Frank Hector Tompkins, Henry Wolf, Mother and Sleeping Child, 1894, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.94
Mother and Sleeping Child
Artist
Date1894
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view
Henry Wolf, Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, The Madonna of the Rose, 1892, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.76
The Madonna of the Rose
Artist
Date1892
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view