Bidspirit auction | ZOAR, OHIO FRAKTUR

ZOAR, OHIO FRAKTUR - Watercolor on paper. Large, complex, and colorful fraktur with a cross at center, over an ”A”, surrounded by flowers and leaves, and with a cutout and thread-wrapped star at the top center. 14” high, 10” wide (sheet); in a period frame, 18.75” high, 14.75” wide (overall). There are very few known Zoar fraktur extant today. Thomas Maier has often been suggested as the artist of both the fraktur and the floral-decorated furniture, there is no conclusive evidence pointing to the identity of the Zoar artist. What is clear is that the artist drew heavily on nature, and on the works of German Luthern theologian Jakob Boehme (1575-1624). Boehme was a radical Pietist and mystic whose writings influenced separatist sects, such as Quakers and the Zoarites.The imagery here, and in other known Zoar fraktur, closely parallels the illustrations in later editions of Boehme?s 1624 Weg zu Christo (The Way to Christ), including the depiction of the point of conflict between good (God) and evil (the Devil), and especially the use of the letter ?A.? The central motif here comes directly from an illustration from his Von Christi Testamenten (see included image), also published in 1624 (the illustration included here from the 1682 Dutch edition). This central motif is then surrounded by lush and colorful flowers, perhaps a nod to the importance of the central Zoar garden, and at top-center, a highly unusual applied star. The star was a highly important symbol of the Zoarites, and was integrated into the ceiling of the Number One House, built in 1835.This fraktur was once part of the legendary collection of Hilda Dischinger Morhart (1900-1978), a descendant of early Zoar settlers and a celebrated historian and preservationist in the village. From Morhart, the fraktur passed into the collection of Jack and Pat Adamson, noted Zoar historians and antiques dealers, and from the Adamsons, the fraktur went to Sandy Worley, a prominent Zoar collector and proprietor of Cobbler House Antiques. Provenance: the collection of Sandy Worley, Zoar, Ohio; ex Jack and Pat Adamson, Zoar, Ohio; purchased from Hilda Morhart, Zoar, Ohio. NOTE: We are happy to answer questions and take additional photos of lots prior to the auction (the sooner submitted the better). Any updates or new photographs will be posted to the catalog on our website. Please check there prior to placing bids to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. SHIPPING: We offer in-house shipping on all lots in this auction. Please see the terms for more information and contact us for a packing/shipping estimate. Condition: Some wrinkling, fading, and minor loss; when removed from the frame, the fraktur was found to only be tipped along the top margin. Also found in the frame were a 1924 Canton, Ohio newspaper fragment, and a cover from a late 19th-century pad of paper from Steubenville.