Name/Title
Chippendale mirror eagleEntry/Object ID
1969.4.47Description
This carved wooden eagle, wings spread wide, once perched atop a Chippendale mirror, a popular decorative form in Federal-era America. After independence, eagles appeared everywhere: on mirrors, mantels, government seals, tavern signs. The new nation needed symbols, and the eagle promised strength, freedom, soaring ambition.
But symbols do heavy lifting. The same eagle that represented liberty for some presided over a republic where millions remained enslaved. It watched from parlor walls in homes built by unpaid labor. Gold-painted and proud, it reflected back what the nation wanted to see—not necessarily what was.
What does it mean to choose a symbol? Who decides what it represents, and for whom? When we look in the mirror of history, what do we see?Acquisition
Accession
1969.4Source or Donor
Draper, RuthAcquisition Method
Gift