1989 Hand Carved Painted Wood Folk Art Schimmel Style Spread Eagle By J. Bastian

Description: A hand chip carved wood and polychrome painted American Folk-Art figure by Jonathan Bastian. The carving shows a Wilhelm Schimmel Style Eagle standing on a black colored base with its wings spread wide. The eagle is dark brown in color with red, gold and black highlights decoration. The bird's legs and claws are yellow in color. The bird's head has a yellow beak and carved black eyes with a yellow, red and brown tuft on top of it. The eagle itself is standing on a pair of thick legs ending in three thick toes or claws clutching the black base. The bird is made in the best tradition of Pennsylvania Folk Art tradition originally developed by Wilhelm Schimmel who was active in Cumberland Valley Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. The piece is signed and dated on the back of one of the eagle's wings. The carving shows details of the wings, the tail, the head and beak. It is very well done and shows the marks of the tool used to carve it throughout. Just a very unusual and nicely do