Lot 69
  • 69

Edmonia Lewis (circa 1843-after 1909)

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Edmonia Lewis
  • The Old Arrow Maker
  • inscribed Old Arrow Maker on the base
  • white marble
  • height: 19 in.
  • (48.3 cm)

Literature

Wayne Craven, Sculpture in America, New York, 1968, p. 334
William H. Gerdts, American Neo-Classical Sculpture The Marble Resurrection, New York, 1973, no. 159, p. 132, illustration

Condition

Good condition, chip to woman's left pinkie finger, small spot of fill at woman's left shoulder, possible chips to man's shaping tool and his arrow, but according to the expert, as complete an arrow as she has seen.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Marilyn Richardson writes: "Along with income from sales and commissions, Edmonia Lewis supported herself through the sale of marble busts and groups illustrating scenes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's phenomenal bestseller, the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855). While inumberable painters and sculptors drew inspiration from that poem, Lewis's figures were particular favorites among collectors, created as they were by the hand of a woman known to be part Ojibway.

"Copies of The Old Arrow Maker (sometimes called The Old Arrow Maker and His Daughter) identical in design and composition, were also titled The Wooing of Hiawatha. Both titles come from Longfellow's Chapter X, "Hiawatha's Wooing," which includes the passages:

At the doorway of his wigwam
Sat the ancient Arrow-Maker...
Making arrowheads of jasper ...
At his side, in all her beauty,
Sat the lovely Minnehaha ...
Plaiting mats of flags and rushes; ...

And further along:

At the feet of Laughing Water
Hiawatha laid his burden,
Threw the red deer from his shoulders;...