Allegory of Rhetoric

Attributed to Simeon Skillin American
 Attributed to John Skillin American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 752

This figure adorned the pediment of a Chippendale-style desk and bookcase when it came to the Museum. Thought to have been made somewhat later than the desk, it is probably the work of two members of a well-known family of Boston ship carvers who executed similar allegorical figures for two chest-on-chests made for the Derby family of Salem. The draped figure is in the Neoclassical style and may symbolize Peace, the caduceus in her left hand replacing what was likely an olive branch.

Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American

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Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American
Allegory of Rhetoric, Attributed to Simeon Skillin (1757–1806), Mahogany, American

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