The Skillin Workshop - ship figures by the Skillin family

Magazine Antiques, March, 1999 by Sylvia Leistyna Lahvis

Variations in abilities and styles of carving are particularly noticeable in the capitals of Charles Bulfinch's New North Church in Boston, which were executed by the Skillin shop about 1804.(29) On some of the capitals the carving is flat with only gouged lines to delineate the leaves [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED], while on others the carving is soft and rounded [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5 OMITTED]. The collaborative effort of the shop is also seen in the figures on the chest on chest made for Elias Hasket Derby by Stephen Badlam in 1791 and carved by the Skillins (Pls. VIII-VIIIa).(30) The hands of three different carvers are evident in the figures on the cornice, and despite their small size compared to the ships' figures one can see the stylizations characteristic of the ship carver's work. The central figure, which has been labeled America has the attributes of Liberty, Virtue, and Victory, making it a perfect emblem for the new Republic. At the left reclines Peace wearing a wreath of olive leaves and carrying a palm frond in her right hand. The other reclining figure is Plenty dressed similarly but wearing a wreath of cornhusks and carrying a cornucopia.

The figure of America looks most like Pomona. The carving is smooth and rounded and the dress billows out from the body in convex folds. The chisel marks serve to accent the fullness of the material; they do not cut into the body itself. The folds of the dress are relatively simple and pull up the dress at the center to show the figure's ankles and feet. In contrast, the figure of Peace shows a lesser hand at work. The head is not as well shaped as the heads of the other two figures. It has been flattened and the cheeks prominently rounded. The fabric is created by a series of shallow cuts that do not clearly articulate the fabric as a separate entity from the body. The pattern of gouge marks on the figure of Plenty is much more angular and complex than that found on America. The gouge marks are deeper and more forcefully cut than on the other figures. This is especially noticeable in the flounce on the skirt, where the cuts create sharp edges. Only around the cornucopia does one see the softer more fluid cutting exhibited in America and Pomona.

The division of labor can be seen in another figure easily attributable to the Skillin shop (frontispiece). It was bought in Boston in 1797 and depicts the Angel Gabriel or a figure of Fame of the kind often found on the stem boards of ships. The finest carving is found in the head and shoulders and in the upper part of the wings, where individual feathers are so articulated that they break out of the contour. The proportions of head, arms, and legs to the height of the figure are similar to those found in other Skillin carvings, and the figure exhibits the familiar mixture of stylization and naturalism. The lower part of the figure, however, is not the equal of the upper part in quality of carving. From a distance there is the convincing sense of wind pulling the dress across the legs. On closer inspection it is clear that striations have been cut into the simple shape With the gouge - the technique seen on some of the capitals in the New North Church. The skirt ends in short chopped cuts, not the soft curved folds one sees in Pomona and America. One could assume that the head and upper body of the figure were carved by Simeon, John, or a skilled journeyman while the lower half was finished by a workshop assistant.