IMPORTANT FOLK ART CARVING OF CIVIL WAR IRONCLAD BATTLE

The large, detailed, half-hull hardwood carving from joined blocks of walnut is an exceptional example of folk art. It portrays the battle scene of the two clashing ironclad ships with raw naive skill and unrefined talent - desirable characteristics in works of folk art. The anonymous artist creates a scene where the USS Monitor, with its central turret, is crossing from right to left through chiseled choppy water in front of its opponent, just as a shot from the CSS Virginia (previously the USS Merrimack) hits the water just beyond the Monitor's starboard aft, sending up a column of water in a stalagmite manner. Similarly, the carver has the Merrimack moving behind the Monitor firing its gun while simultaneously taking a hit from the Monitor's guns and so on.

The artist chiseled the lower front to depict choppy waters, and depicted the firing of each ship's guns with billowy, undulating swirls of exuberantly and integrally carved walnut.

Shells are depicted hitting the deck of each ironclad with either a starburst sort of effect carved from wood, or with a fat cloud of curling wooden smoke. A shell barely misses the Monitor near its aft, producing a column of water. All of the detail - the telling of the battle's story - is rendered in a classic folk art nature. The carving has a nice, dark and warm patina and is estimated to be circa 1870s or earlier.

Measures 8 x 22.5 inches.

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Condition Report: Very good condition, noting a chip from the Merrimack's smoke stack and loss from one plume of smoke.