Flag Holder

Unidentified · 19th century

Artists often decorate flag holders with patriotic symbols and colors. In this piece, made in the nineteenth century, the artist painted three stars around two crossed American flags. The flag on the right has twenty-one stars, while the other has twenty-two. This may symbolize the twenty-first and twenty-second states, Illinois and Alabama, who joined the Union in 1818 and 1819.