MCI Project Summaries 2008 - Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum
MCI 5964 A Statuette after Clark Mills’s Andrew Jackson on Horseback (latter
half of the 19 th century)
MCI Staff: Carol A. Grissom
Treatment of this early American cast-zinc statuette consisted of repairing the broken
proper right arm so that the statuette could be displayed in the Luce Center when the museum
reopened in the Patent Office Building. In preparation for treatment, the statuette was examined
in some detail in comparison to a similar statuette owned by the National Portrait Gallery (No.
85.8). The SAAM copy’s “bronze” paint appears to be original and in relatively good condition.
While it has a smaller base than NPG’s copy and lacks an inscription for Cornelius and Baker,
close examination revealed that it was made using the same molds since the same mold-based
flaws appear on both copies. Comparison of the two copies also revealed many small differences
in assembly and finishing. This copy, for example, lacks delineated seams on Jackson’s pant legs
and jacket sleeves, which the other copy has. The statuette was also X-rayed, showing metal
armatures in the horse’s legs and metal rods used to attach the horse’s tail and legs.
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