Weccacoe Engine Panel Painting
date: label: date made
content: mid 19th century
name: label: artist attribution
content: Etter, David Rent
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This small fire engine panel painting is attributed to the Weccacoe Hose Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1842 by members of the Weccacoe Fire Company who would not take a temperance pledge. It operated until 1854, when it was disbanded for rioting. In 1856, the City Council refused to admit the company to the newly organized Philadelphia Fire Department, which, although volunteer, was under the administrative and financial control of the city. The small round panel has a painted inscription on the reverse that notes that the company was “disbanded by order of the court for rioting” around 1854. The image may be that of the Wampanoag sachem, Metacomet, who led his people against the English settlers of southern New England in King Phillip’s War (1675-76). The painting is similar to a well-known image of Metacomet engraved by Paul Revere in the 1770s. The Indian leader was the protagonist in a popular 19th century stage play “The Last of the Wampanoags,” portrayed by Philadelphia’s Edwin Forrest, one of America’s most famous actors.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: classified
content: Fire Fighting
label: depicted; decorative motif
content: Indians
label: depicted; decorative motif
content: Native Americans
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
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content: Engine Panel Paintings
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Work
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content: Firefighting Collection
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0233.0322
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0322
objectType: label: Object Name
content: painting, engine panel
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: tin (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: oil paint (image material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 3/4 in x 5 1/2 in; 14.605 cm x 13.97 cm