EXCEPTIONAL AND RARE PAIR OF "WAR AND PEACE" SPREAD-WING EAGLE PLAQUES BY IVAH W. SPINNEY
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Late 19th/Early 20th Century
A very rare example of a pair of period carved and painted American eagles. Well-articulated heads on elegantly curved necks, detailed with pronounced beaks, carved eyes and red painted tongues. The "War" eagleís head faces right and the ìPeace" eagleís faces left, and both clutch a green painted olive branch and three gold leaf arrows in their talons. Carved and gilded wings taper in thickness toward the tips. Feathers executed in typical Spinney style. Both signed on back of head "Ivah W. Spinney".
Heights approx. 17". Widths 58".
Reference:
The Bold Art & Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy by James Craig (Portsmouth, N.H.: Portsmouth Historical Society, 2014) p. 89, 123, 124-125. A pair of "War and Peace" eagles by John Hale Bellamy that are very similar in design and size are illustrated on p. 89. Two examples of signed Ivah Spinney eagles are illustrated on p. 124 and Spinney's signature at the top edge of an eagleís wing is illustrated on p. 125.

Notes:
According to James Craig's The Bold Art & Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy, Ivah W. Spinney was a carver in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and was working at the same period and across the river from where John Hale Bellamy worked in Kittery, Maine. Craig writes "the carving of the feathers in Spinney eagles are generally of a softer, shallower cut" and that while Bellamy typically did not sign his eagles, Spinney usually did, in a location where the signature would not interfere with the viewing of the carving. Bellamy and Spinney eagles graced the homes in the Portsmouth and Kittery areas, including the doorway of Kittery Point resident Windam Mayo, as illustrated in a circa 1900 photograph. Craig notes it is strikingly similar to another eagle illustrated in the book, and although their heads face in different directions and one is painted and the other gilded, it hints that Spinney possibly used similar production methods as Bellamy.

Some minor wear to finish. The back of the eagleís show overpaint and gilding.

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