Lot 203
203
A NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR PHRENOLOGY HEAD
AN ENQUIRING EYE: PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR PHRENOLOGY HEAD

POSSIBLY MAINE, 19TH CENTURY

Details
A NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR PHRENOLOGY HEAD
POSSIBLY MAINE, 19TH CENTURY
11 ½ in. high
Provenance
Kenneth and Ida Manko, Moody, Maine
Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York, August 1987
Literature
Roger Ricco and Frank Maresca, American Primitive: Discoveries in Folk Sculpture (New York, 1988), pp. 100-101.
Exhibited
New York, Museum of American Folk Art, Discoveries in Folk Sculpure, 7 December 1989 - 15 April 1990.

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Sallie Glover
Sallie Glover
+1 212 636 2230

Lot Essay


Phrenology is a pseudoscience in which bumps on the skull are measured and analyzed to determine character and mental traits. This Phrenology head has been confirmed to be northern white cedar by scientific wood analysis. This supports the idea that the piece, which was found in Maine, was likely made in that area as well.

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