Unknown

Large American Folk Art Handmade Copper Fishing Village Lighthouse Art Sculpture

Paint and gold paint on wood Circa early to mid 20th century. This is not signed A treasure from a proud congregation. It is a hand-carved wooden sculpture showing the Tablets of the Law flanked by two Lions of Judah. Their paws held the tablets. Their roaring mouths faced outward, protecting the commandments from threats. In a foliage design with gold and silver paint. Circa 1920-1940's. This Neoclassical, Judaic, Art Deco, Egyptian revival, Shul, Aron Kodesh hand carving, wood with gilding, Hebrew lettering ten commandments sign sculpture, was produced probably in New York. There was a show at the Folk Art Museum titled “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel” That featured these antique magnificent pieces. From gilded lions to high-stepping horses, the sacred to the secular, and the Old World to the New, “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel” traces the journey of Jewish woodcarvers and other artisans from Eastern and Central Europe to America and the unsung role they played in establishing a distinct Jewish culture in communities throughout the United States. The exuberant artworks stand as a testament to a history of survival and transformation and provide a surprising revelation of the link that was forged between the synagogue and the carousel as immigrant Jewish artists transferred symbolic visual elements into this vernacular American idiom. The first major study of this important aspect of the Jewish contribution to American folk art, the exhibition features approximately one hundred artworks and objects, including rare documentary photographs of Eastern European synagogue arks and carved gravestones, sacred carvings, papercuts, and carousel animals. Some of these same Jewish European carvers worked on Coney Island amusement park rides and carousel horses and other carnival and circus carvings.

This work is hand signed. It is not dated. Murat Brierre or Murat Briere (1938–1988) was one of Haiti's principal metal sculptors. He was influenced by George Liautaud, but his work acquired its own, highly experimental style, often focusing on multi-faceted and conjoined figures, fantastically personified elements, and unborn babies visible within larger creatures. He sculpted works that reflected both Christian and Haitian Vodou themes. Murat BRIERRE was born in Mirebalais in 1938. He first worked as a builder, cabinetmaker and blacksmith before being introduced to Le Centre d’Art in 1966. After trying painting with DeWitt Peters, he realized that metal sculpture was best suited for him and studied under Georges Liautaud in order to learn the métier. He also made very beautiful linocuts. Francine Murat quickly recognized his talent and considered Brierre to be one of the best Haitian sculptors. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 50. Brierre was known for his recycling of surplus steel oil drum lids. Brierre worked as a brick mason, cabinetmaker, tile setter, and blacksmith. He was born in Mirebalais or Port-au-Prince, Haiti and was the younger of two brothers. His older brother, Edgar Brierre, was a painter and sculptor. The brother's signed their works with only their last name, creating some confusion within their professional circles about the authorship of their work. Brierre's sculptures typically ranged from three to six feet in length and reflected Christian, Haitian Vodou, and folklore themes. Brierre was also a painter, but ultimately chose to work with metal because he felt that the material was saturated with spiritual energy. It was a laborious process. The oil drum lids were hammered flat, drawn onto, then cut with a razor. The sheet was then cut with a chisel before finishing was completed with a file. By the mid1970s, Brierre's sculptures included pronounced areas of cut outs surrounding long curved lines of metal. Brierre's iron sculpture titled Chien de Mer overlays a dog head onto the body of a fish. Haiti has long celebrated a rich artistic and cultural heritage. Georges Liautaud (1899–1991) ignited the Haitian metal sculpture movement in the 1950s in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. A blacksmith by trade, he fashioned crosses for public cemeteries before creating more elaborate cut-metal works. Liautaud disseminated the distinctly Haitian art form to emerging artists, such as Murat Brièrre (1938–88) and the Louisjuste brothers, Sérésier, Janvier, and Joseph (1940–89). They, in turn, taught others in Croix-des-Bouquets, including Gabriel Bien-Aimé (b. 1951) and Serge Jolimeau (b. 1952), Haiti’s two leading metal sculptors working today. Discarded steel oil drums have historically served as the base material for Haitian metal artists. The drums’ lids are cut open with a chisel and hammer and a long vertical split is made along the side of the drums. The interiors are filled with dried sugarcane or grass and lit on fire to remove any grime; once cool, the drums are flattened into sheets. Designs are chalked on; pieces are then cut and sculpted using only hand tools and further enhanced by hammering, embossing, cutting holes, and bending the metal. Sculptures reflect everyday life portraits, imaginative themes, and motifs of Haitian Vodou, an African Diasporic religion. Some of the many forms that appear include angels and winged creatures, mermaids and other aquatic figures, musical bands, animals, and earthly, paradisiacal scenes. Solo exhibitions 1967 – Haitian Art Gallery, New York 1968 – Centre d'Art, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Bradley Galleries, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Georgetown Graphics Gallery, Washington D.C.; Menschoff Gallery, Chicago; John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Roko Gallery, New York 1969 – Centre d'Art, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Showcase Gallery, Washington D.C.; Botolph Group, Boston 1970 – Centre d'Art, Port-au-Prince, Haiti 1972 – Centre d'Art, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Roko Gallery, New York 1979 – Areta Contemporary Design, Boston Group exhibitions 1969 – Davenport Art Gallery, Iowa 1974 – Davenport Art Gallery, Iowa 1978 – Brooklyn Museum, New York (traveling) 1982 – Studio Museum in Harlem, New York 1983 – Chicago Public Library Cultural Center 1985 – Davenport Art Gallery, Iowa 1987 – Musée du Panthéon National, Port-au-Prince, Haiti 1988 – Galeries Nationales d'Exposition du Grand Palais, Paris 1989 – Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 2006 – Phyllis Kind Gallery in conjunction with the Outsider Art Fair, New York 2024 Ayiti Toma II: Faith, Family, and Resistance, Luhring Augustine, Tribeca, New York 2023 Haitian Metal Sculpture, SFO Museum, California, USA 2015 Celebrating African American Art, Flomenhaft Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA An important exhibition of works by outstanding African American artists. Included were: Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Murat Brierre, Beverly Buchanan...