Shang Wheeler Swan With Two Cygnets

Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949) Stratford, CT, c. 1938 swan is 16 in. long

cygnets are 5 in. long

This unique one-third size swan family is peerless among all known vintage American bird carvings. As seen in the spring time, the mother has her cygnets resting on her hollow body while holding her wings up to protect them. Shang used this natural phenomenon to showcase this elaborate carving.

This piece was acquired by the Igleheart family directly from the artist and it resided in their Myrtle Grove Plantation in Green Pond, SC. Original paint with even wear, slight seam separation at head-neck joint. Right wing has been reset in two places with touch-up to lines on inside of wing and to much of outside of wing.

Provenance: Austin and Suzanne Igleheart Collection Myrtle Grove Plantation, Green Pond, South Carolina Private Collection, by descent from above

Literature: Dixon MacD. Merkt, "Shang: A Biography of Charles E. Wheeler," Spanish Fork, UT, 1984, p. 178, exact carving illustrated.

Provenance

Austin and Suzanne Igleheart Collection Myrtle Grove Plantation, Green Pond, South Carolina Private Collection, by descent from above