Lake Compounce Indian Head Plaque No. 15 - Art With History!

I got lucky once again when this piece, which I had been watching for some time, was recently re-listed with a very low buy-it-now price. I jumped on it! Even though it was only an hour and a half drive away, it took over a month to arrive in the mail. The seller sure took their time sending it!

Still in all, once I had this large and heavy plaque in hand, I was very glad I had purchased it. The image is one that is frequently seen, albeit often with significantly different details - indeed, I have posted a similar (but I'll admit cruder) version of this very image in a prior post. I'd date this bronze to somewhere from 1910 to the 30's, probably contemporary with my other one. This was definitely meant to be affixed to an upright surface, probably a wall or post. It has three small drilled holes around the circumference, perfect for small screws or nails. The patina on the piece is a rich chocolate brown without any sign of verdigris, so I can assume that this plaque was well protected and not frequently touched, much less abused. There is no damage on it that I can find anywhere. It is signed "BERN" in the casting, under the lower edge of the neck. The signature is crisp and clear as are the other details.

According to my research so far, a similar plaque with an identical signature was attributed to an American sculptor named "Schutte Bern." I can only find references to a "Bern Schutte," who is listed as a butcher who immigrated in 1888 at age 26 from Germany. I've seen mentions of a sculptor named "Bern Schutte" in a German auction who worked for the National Cash Register Company in 1905 and sculpted two Indian plaques for them - BINGO!

The vast majority of plaques with this image that I have seen have significant differences in detail from mine. I've seen the background having a different texture, the headband a different pattern (mine even has a different pattern between the front and back!) and the feathers a different depth of detail. I've even seen bronze plaques that are so crudely cast that they have pits and flaws across the entire surface, or have been cast in iron. On one such, the signature was so rough and faded that it was almost unreadable. In my opinion, this image (like the works of Frederic Remington and James Earle Fraser) was widely copied throughout the years since it was introduced. The changes in the details were, also in my opinion, an attempt to head off charges of copyright infringement. It seems the original signature was missed by the copyists however! Probably the sharpest bronze I've ever seen of this image was an award from the National Cash Register Company dated 1908 (if I remember right). My copy has stippling around the circumference both above and below the Indian which is suspiciously in the same place as the lettering on that award plaque. I think mine may be an "early generation" copy of the NCR sales award plaque, perhaps molded directly from an original. I've seen stippling like this before, namely on the copy of the American Paper and Pulp Association plaque that I almost bought (I own an original version with the lettering though, it's featured in an earlier post). To make a copy, all one has to do is throw a mold from the original, cast a wax copy and stipple out the lettering with a pointed wood dowel. Coat the wax in plaster, melt out the wax, fill the cavity with bronze and you have a copy without lettering. If you were sand casting, you'd coat the original in alginate and make a plaster copy, on which you would stipple out the lettering. Then you'd use that plaster to mold up your sand and cast the bronze copies. Voilà!

The seller stated that it had something about Connecticut written on it in tiny dots. In looking at it closely, I can make out the writing. Above the Indian's head, starting at about the forehead and curving around the circumference to the drilled hole is punched "COMPOUNCE. NO. 15". Below the Indian, starting under the chin and following the bottom circumference to the hole drilled under the hair is punched, "BRISTOL. CONN.".  The dots are all small, shallow and spaced so that they are very difficult to see, especially from a distance greater than a few feet away. It didn't take much research to find out that Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut is the country's oldest operating amusement park. The park is named after the lake it sits beside, which was named for Chief Compounce of the Mattituck/Tunxis tribe who sold the land to the white settlers in 1684 and (according to legend) drowned in the lake shortly after. Gad Norton, a descendent of the settler who first bought the land from the Chief, opened the amusement park in 1846. The land stayed in the same family for over 200 years, the amusement park for over 140 years, until it was sold in 1986. Today it is owned by a large amusement company, having passed through hands as illustrious as the Hershey Corporation.

My assumption is that this plaque once was one of at least 15 that hung in various locations within the park, perhaps in a picnic pavilion or other amusement, though I don't know if the other 14 (or more) were the same image or not. Indeed, given the history of the park, this may well predate my own estimate of its age. I can only assume that these plaques were all removed during some past renovation, perhaps after the sale of the park by the original owners to a major corporation in 1985. It wouldn't exactly be "politically correct" to display an image like this in a modern commercial amusement park.

I'm still looking for early photographs of the park. Hopefully I'll find one with this plaque (or another one) in it. If anyone out there knows anything, please let me know!

I love that this piece not only has value as a work of bronze art, but that it can also be definitively tied to a historic place. To me that's a really nice bonus, like finding you bought something that was once owned by someone famous. I'm sure many people once gazed on this plaque, and it surely was a part of plenty of memories.

The color of the patina is actually closer to the first picture, but the dot lettering wouldn't show up under that lighting. I used a cooler light for the other pictures - the color may not be representative, but the details pop quite a bit more.

Edit: I have been seeing vintage copies of this piece show up made of various materials ranging from ceramic to aluminum. I've recently purchased one made of bronzed cast iron and another made from "some kind of painted metal." When this mystery metal one arrives, I'll post pictures of both and add what I know of them as well as my theories regarding their origins. Stay tuned!

Indian Plaque attributed to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park

Indian Plaque attr. to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park

Indian Plaque attr. to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park, upper punched lettering "COMPOUNCE. NO. 15"

Indian Plaque attr. to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park, lower punched lettering "BRISTOL."

Indian Plaque attr. to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park, lower punched lettering "CONN."

Indian Plaque attr. to Bern Schutte, bronze, from Lake Compounce Park, back