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  HAND-PAINTED PATRIOTIC BANNER w/ THE SEAL OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, PROBABLY MADE FOR THE 1868 DEMOCRAT NATIONAL CONVENTION AT TAMMANY HALL, NEW YORK CITY

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 75.75" x 52"
Flag Size (H x L): 65" x 34"
Description....:
Swallowtail format, patriotic, vertical banner, made in the period between roughly 1861 and the 1876 centennial of American Independence. Entirely hand-painted on light cotton canvas, the textile is tacked to its original, red-painted, wooden staff, capped at either end with gold acorn finials. A length of red wool tape was employed to reinforce the points at which the tacks were affixed.

Note the bold and interesting imagery that includes a folded streamer with modernistic qualities, canted across the top register, set against a cornflower blue ground with 20 visible stars. Below this is a field of 11 red and white stripes. Although their number is unexpected for an American object—the typical count being 13 to reflect the original 13 colonies and mirror the symbolism present in the American national flag, it is of interest to note that the order follows a basic rule of heraldry for vertical bars/stripes, called “pales” (the formal term when vertical), so that they begin and end in white. Superimposed on both registers is a gold medallion of floriated scrollwork, inside which is an interpretation of the Virginia state seal, executed in a style with folk qualities.

In May 1776 the Virginia colony declared its independence from Great Britain. On July 1, 1776, a committee of four was appointed to make a proper seal for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The four men were Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, George Wythe, and Robert Carter Nicholas. Four days later the committee's report for a design of the seal was read, and George Mason presented it to the Virginia legislature. It was voted on and approved that same day. Although the list of committee members chiefly responsible for the device remains unknown, it is believed to have principally been the work of George Wythe.

The committee did not wish to display a design that in any way resembled a British coats-of-arms. Due to strong admiration for the Roman Republic among Virginia leaders, the inspiration was instead taken from ancient Roman mythology. In English, the Latin motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" translates to: "Thus always to tyrants." The image shows tyranny lying prostrate beneath the foot of Virtus, the Roman deity of virtue. The royal crown has fallen, to symbolize the evacuation of the monarchical control of Great Britain.

It is of interest to note that Virginia and New York are the only two states where a crown is displayed on a state seal. It is also worth noting that while most depictions of the Virginia seal illustrate the fallen monarch in purple, to reference Julius Caesar and the Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus, for some reason they appear here in blue and red. In general, artists illustrating state seals took great liberty in their work. Due to both this and the challenges of disseminating detailed artistic information in early America, tons of variation occurred from one example to the next, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Banners of this type were often hoisted on single vertical staffs that held the rope aloft in the center. This basic style was both carried in parades and affixed to indoor mounts. Similar state banners and related decorations with state imagery can be seen along the walls at early political conventions, or hoisted among the benches, to denote where the respective delegates sat. Others in the same form are known for Illinois, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, as well as New York City. The latest state among these is Kansas, which gained statehood in the opening year of the Civil War (1861). The presence of the New York City example strongly suggests that the event where they were used occurred in New York.

  The manner of construction, including the fabric and the painted surface, as well as the seals and the overall imagery, suggests that the banners date to the third quarter of the 19th century. The only political convention held in New York, for either party, at any time between 1861 and 1900, took pace in 1868, when the Democrat National Convention was held at Manhattan’s Tammany Hall.

A colorful illustration, printed for Joseph Shannon’s “Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York,” shows the interior of the building masterfully festooned with patriotic banners, medallions, and buntings of similar nature. Only the front and the central interior are pictured, but two full sets of state-identifying decorations are shown. Though neither happens to match this particular style, the particular banners may have been the set carried in the parade that accompanied the event. These may have afterwards been simply rolled up, or hung elsewhere on the premises. The amount of wealth at Tammany Hall at the time, and the artistic resources available to produce the banners, were more easily accessed in New York than anywhere else in the nation, save perhaps Philadelphia.

An alternative, though less likely possibility, is that the banners were used in festivities pertaining to the 100-year anniversary of American independence in 1876, either in New York or at an event such as the Centennial International Exhibition, our nation’s first World’s Fair, held in Philadelphia in that year. In addition to each individual state, New York City may have maintained a pavilion at the Centennial Expo. I would consider this far more likely if a banner representing the City of Philadelphia was known. Whatever the case may be, the particular banner is a bold, graphic, and colorful survivor of the latter 19th century, and the only privately held example of this sort that I am aware to exist with the device of the State of Virginia.

A banner from the same series, featuring Kentucky, is illustrated in “Stars & The Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art” by Deborah Harding, (2002, Rizzoli International Publications, New York,) p. 52-53.

Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained our own textile conservation department, led by a master’s degree level graduate from one of the nation’s top programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples.

The banner has been hand-stitched to a background 100% cotton, black in color, that was washed and treated for colorfastness. The mount was then placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the staff. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic.

Condition: There is minor soiling and there was very minor paint loss. A very minor amount of professional restoration was undertaken. There is some breakdown around the left eye of the soldier. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings
Flag Type:
Star Count: 21
Earliest Date of Origin: 1861
Latest Date of Origin: 1876
State/Affiliation: Virginia
War Association: 1866-1890 Indian Wars
Price: SOLD
 

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