Rebirth for a Classic Sculpture? In 1791 William Rush, the United States’ first great sculptor, carved a wooden figurehead of an Indian trader for the William Penn, a trading vessel. But after she was sold in 1802, the ship vanished from the historical record. Two centuries later the figurehead may have come to light. A research team believes a seven- And-a-half-foot-high wood carving bought by antiques collector Peter Hill at a San Francisco auction in 1985 once graced the William Penn. “It’s as close a fit as you can hope to get,” says R. Mark Adams, a conservator who led the lengthy research effort. The team is convinced that the smiling figure is Tamanend, a chief of the Delaware Indians who signed a treaty with William Penn in 1683. Though Rush was famed for his Indian figures, none was known to survive. Hill has commissioned a clay model, at far left, and hopes a museum will accept and restore the wood carving.
Prove for resonance888
