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Scherenschnitte
In early America, paper-cutting was not just child’s play. Adult artists used paper and scissors to create black silhouette portraits and intricate patterns and detailed images of interiors and landscapes. The charming antique cut-paper designs of the Pennsylvania German community are called scherenschnitte.
As with needlework, training in paper-cutting began early. Typically scherenschnitte was symmetrical, cut after the paper had been folded one or more times, then unfolded for a multiple image.
Many of the Pennsylvania German cut-paper designs were intended as love messages, or liebesbriefe. While some scherenschnitte were left plain white, the more colorfully decorated of these cut-paper creations are often grouped with the traditional folk art of fraktur. Collectors should note that this craft was also practiced in Germany, although European examples are worth less than the American folk pieces.
Scherenschnitte should have a visual impact through its color and graphics; it also should be in good condition. The best ones have added painting or inscriptions with a name and date to establish provenance.
Other paper-and-scissors pictures from the 19th century are less folksy and more Victorian in character. These examples have delicate, lacelike cutwork and feature many human and animal figures in genre scenes. They also vary widely in price depending on their individual merits and charm.
As with needlework, training in paper-cutting began early. Typically scherenschnitte was symmetrical, cut after the paper had been folded one or more times, then unfolded for a multiple image.
Many of the Pennsylvania German cut-paper designs were intended as love messages, or liebesbriefe. While some scherenschnitte were left plain white, the more colorfully decorated of these cut-paper creations are often grouped with the traditional folk art of fraktur. Collectors should note that this craft was also practiced in Germany, although European examples are worth less than the American folk pieces.
Scherenschnitte should have a visual impact through its color and graphics; it also should be in good condition. The best ones have added painting or inscriptions with a name and date to establish provenance.
Other paper-and-scissors pictures from the 19th century are less folksy and more Victorian in character. These examples have delicate, lacelike cutwork and feature many human and animal figures in genre scenes. They also vary widely in price depending on their individual merits and charm.
Latest page update: made by kjacobso
, Jun 19 2007, 12:50 PM EDT
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