Vintage Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted Bellamy-Style Eagle, Signed by Walter Ketzler, Mid 20th Century
Presented is a vintage Bellamy-style carved wooden eagle by Walter Ketzler. This mid 20th century wood eagle is gilded, with a painted white and blue shield and a red tongue. It supports a shield under its right wing as the head looks to its left. With detailed feathers and a glass bead eye, this stylized eagle is an interesting work of folk art.
The relief carving is styled after John Bellamy, a well known folk artist made popular in the late 19th century for his stylized eagles and ship carvings. True to Bellamy’s style, this eagle has a flattened top beak, a curved neck to mimic the eagle in flight, and dramatic eyes.
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States and a symbol of freedom. The eagle motif in décor and folk art has been widely used throughout U.S. history, most notably as part of the Great Seal. The founders of the United States often compared their new republic to the Roman Republic, in which eagle imagery, usually the golden eagle, was prominent. On June 20, 1782, the Continental Congress adopted the design for the Great Seal of the United States depicting a bald eagle grasping 13 arrows and an olive branch with its talons. Eagle depictions in art have been common on tapestries, in carved furniture, in posters and prints, and as carved wall pieces for display on ships or houses.
This eagle signed on the back "W. Ketzler, Eliot Maine." Walter Ketzler 1(893-1966) arrived in New York in 1922 to work as a sign and interior painter in Brooklyn. By 1955, he was working in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and living in Eliot, Maine. He is noted for carving Bellamy style eagles.
CONDITION:
Near fine condition. Hand-carved wooden eagle plaque, with shield. Bright gilt, red and blue paint intact, white paint somewhat faded. Light nicks and scratches into wood. Flat back. Signed "W. Ketzler, Eliot Maine." on the back.
Dimensions: 6" H x 24" W.
Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.
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Vintage Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted Bellamy-Style Eagle, Signed by Walter Ketzler, Mid 20th Century
Colorado
1 Lake Avenue
Colorado Springs CO 80906
United States
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Vintage Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted Bellamy-Style Eagle, Signed by Walter Ketzler, Mid 20th Century
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