Sign for Abbe's Inn
PainterPainted by
William Rice
(American, 1777 - 1847)
PainterRepainted by
Luther Terry Knight
(American, born 1844)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Daniel Abbe Jr.
(American, 1775 - 1833)
Dateabout 1822
MediumPaint on pine board and moldings, iron hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth x weight including hardware): 61 1/2 x 77 1/8 x 5 7/8in., 90lb. (156.2 x 195.9 x 14.9cm, 40.8kg)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number1986.221.0
DescriptionImages: on side 1, a lion, with body in profile, head facing forward, wrapped in chains, standing on grass-tufted ground; on side 2: an eagle with U.S. shield and seventeen stars in the sky, inside a central oval outline. U.S. arms in the shield are painted over Connecticut arms.
Text: none.
Construction:
Text: none.
Construction:
Collections
Label TextMeasuring four and one-half feet high by over six feet wide, and weighing ninety pounds, this impressive sign is among the largest inn signs known. The immense lion on side 1 is approximately two-thirds life-size, occupying the entire signboard and leaving no room for a name band. At least four other signs inscribed or attributed to William Rice display this particular lion---facing directly toward the viewer, usually wild-eyed and chained, and standing on grass-tufted ground. Side 2 displays other characteristic Rice features, especially the framing oval, ornamented with alternating triglyphs and flowers, and thunderbolts in place of arrows in the eagle's claw.
This sign, originally painted by William Rice, follows the artist’s pattern of a lion on one side and an eagle on the other. The chained lion suggests a menagerie setting or the traveling animal shows that were occasionally performed at taverns and inns. Such shows were one of the few places where an 18th- or early 19th-century New Englander might have encountered a live lion.
NotesHistorical Note: The object file contains a copy of the posting announcing William Arthur Abbe's auction to sell contents of his inn when he went out of business in 1918.This sign, originally painted by William Rice, follows the artist’s pattern of a lion on one side and an eagle on the other. The chained lion suggests a menagerie setting or the traveling animal shows that were occasionally performed at taverns and inns. Such shows were one of the few places where an 18th- or early 19th-century New Englander might have encountered a live lion.
Status
On view
1814-1820
before 1892
