Summer
Personifications of the four seasons were common subjects for engravers and printmakers in the eighteenth century, but carved wood statuettes such as these are exceedingly rare. In this set of figurines (1971.180.83-.86), the seasons are identified by their attributes: Spring by flowers, Summer by wheat, Autumn by a basket of fruit, and Winter by a muff. Other than for ships’ figureheads, there was little demand in the United States for sculptural carving during this time period. The surviving examples of non-maritime wood sculpture originated almost exclusively in Boston or Salem, Massachusetts.
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