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Sheaf of wheat design

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Author	Topic: Sheaf of wheat design
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 02-19-2009 09:02 AM My wife and I visited Eutaw, Alabama recently and saw Kirkwood Mansion; a beautiful 1860 Greek revival antebellum home. All of the fireplace mantels were attractive, but one marble mantel was particularly striking with symbols of abundance carved into its face. Attractive sheaves of wheat, corn and grapes all gave this mantel a warm feeling of prosperity. I guess I was somewhat surprised that cotton was not included considering that cotton is what brought wealth to this area, but on the other hand wheat, corn and grapes have always symbolized a successful harvest for whatever crop one is growing. This beautiful mantel reminded me about the use of the wheat symbol in U.S. silver. The first use of wheat in the U.S. silver trade that I am aware of was as a manufacturing mark by silversmiths. For example, the spoon below has the mark of Tunis D. Dubois that includes not only his initials, but also the representation of a sheaf of wheat. Dubois and his brother, Joseph became known for the use of this mark with their initials. The Dubois sheaf is typical of at least 10 other sheaves that were used at the very end of the 1700s until the 1830s by other manufacturers in the marking of their silver. The McGrew book is a good reference to see the range of manufacturers' marks using a sheaf of wheat. Most of these representations of wheat are very similar to each other and the use of this identifying mark by so many silversmiths would seem to defeat the main purpose of trademarks today; i.e. the elimination of the confusion as to the source of the goods. That would lead me to believe that the mark was not used to identify the source of the goods, but rather was added for the purpose of decoration. It may be that within the trade minor differences in the sheaves of wheat were recognized, but it does not seem to me that the general public would notice the differences. The spoon above has the mark of either William Haverstick or William Haverstick, Jr. as I believe they both used this mark. This spoon has a sheaf of wheat design on the back of the bowl and most likely was made in the same manner as other picture back spoons. The use of a wheat design on this spoon clearly was for decoration - perhaps the Haversticks admired the use of wheat by other silversmiths as marks and decided to use it in a more prominent place on their spoons. Wheat on picture back spoons does not seem to have been copied or used by other silversmiths - at least I am not aware of any others. IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 02-19-2009 09:03 AM The sheaves of wheat shown below are representative of those used on many U.S. spoons during the 1820s. This pattern was very popular and many silversmiths added a sheaf of wheat to their line of goods. The first spoon is unmarked and any information about it would be appreciated. The second spoon has the mark of Fredrick Marquand and the Lion, Bust and C manufacturer's marks. These manufacturers' marks are shown in McGrew's book, but I am not sure who McGrew actually attributes them to, except that it was a manufacturer in New York City. McGrew's article in Silver Magazine some years ago showed many examples of the various basket of flowers pattern, but I am not aware of any articles on the sheaf of wheat pattern. Does anyone know who the first to use this design was and how many variations exist? The basket of flowers and the sheaf of wheat patterns seem to have been started in the U.S. around 1825. I have seen the basket of flowers pattern on spoons from Europe dating to the mid-1700s, but I am not aware that sheaves of wheat were used anywhere until the U.S. silversmiths introduced this design. Could this design be considered the first U.S. created design? Any information about the use of sheaves of wheat on silver spoons would be appreciated. IP: Logged
ellabee Posts: 306 Registered: Dec 2007	posted 02-19-2009 09:28 AM I'm not surprised cotton isn't included on the mantel as a symbol of plenty. It's not edible. It's not particularly visually appealing. It's not European. Representation of it would be just a little too direct an acknowledgement of the actual methods by which the "plenty" represented by the mantel and its surroundings was extracted from cotton. I'd assumed that the sheaf of wheat had been used in European decorative arts long before its adoption on U.S. silver. IP: Logged
argentum1 Posts: 602 Registered: Apr 2004	posted 02-19-2009 11:26 AM The mantel was most likely of European manufacture and as no cotton grows in Europe there would be no cotton plant on the mantel. The possiblity it was of northern manufacture is possible but I would doubt it. Although the south has a lot of marble formations and it could have originated there I am not well versed in Southern industries so the above is just an opinion. IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 02-19-2009 01:29 PM There is this earlier discussion ( I.S.W. sheath of wheat mark) of the Dubois trademark (to which ahwt contributed), along with a few others in which there is mention of it (use the search engine). A number of different swages have been used, presumably proprietary and peculiar to the actual maker of the spoons on which each appears, They can be told apart by examining the scythes - the handle differs on the above two examples, as does the number of stalks beneath them. Some swages with a different design are discussed in this thread (Decorative Swages). (images missing at the moment) IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 02-19-2009 08:00 PM Sheaves of wheat were used to represent the bounty of the Lord in biblical times and were within the traditions of ancient Rome and Greece to represent abundance. Samuel McIntire is praised for his wood cravings that included among other elements sheaves of wheat. An exhibit of Samuel McIntire’ work , recently held at the Peabody Essex Museum, explored his contributions not only to the use of the sheaf of wheat, but the use of the American eagle, fruits, flowers, urns and draperies in his cravings. All of his contributions seem to be in the field of wood carvings and no mention is made of the use of the sheaf of wheat in silver. I am more interested, at this time, in whether or not any American silversmith is credited with the first use of the sheaf of wheat or had the impact in silver that Samuel McIntire had in his field. In the broader context I am interested in the role that the early American silversmith played in the formation of the decorative arts of the United States. The mantel at Kirkwood is Carrara marble from Italy and I do not think that the craftsmen in Italy considered using cotton as a symbol for plenty. My comments were just meant to recognize that the wealth produced when cotton was King created works of beauty that I hope will last far beyond my lifetime. Fields of cotton in bloom are very attractive and even cut branches add a soft touch to Halloween celebrations. IP: Logged

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