Obbatinewat, Shamut Sachem, (circa 1610-1630), subject of bronze bust created by Adelbert Ames. The bust was donated by Virginia L. Fresina and family in honor of Francis Robert Fresina.  Recently the museum acquired an interesting gift that is currently on display in the Men’s Waiting Room. It is a replica of a bust sculpted by Adelbert Ames Jr. (1880-1955), the brother of Blanche Ames Ames. Blanche was of course married to Oakes Ames of Easton, and a force in her own right. The original sculpture, completed in 1912, was a bronze bust of Obbatinewat (circa 1610-1630) who was Sachem of the Wampanoag settlement of Shawmut on the Shawmut Peninsula where the city of Boston now lies. The copy shows the signature of the artist Adelbert Ames on the back. The Wampanoag Sachem Obbatinewat signed a treaty of peace with Captain John Smith for mutual defense and befriended the settlers of Plymouth Colony. He was likely present at Wessagusset (Weymouth) in 1623 when Miles Standish ordered the killing of several Massachuset warriors. Ames’s original sculpture of the Native American was the model for the trademark Shawmut Bank ‘Indian’ bust. There are many of these in different sizes used in various ways by the bank. The logo was also used in coin banks, calendars, and various advertisements up until 1995. Many consider these collectibles today. Adelbert Ames was quite successful in his lifetime, working as a lawyer, then as a painter; he collaborated with his sister Blanche on the System of Color Theory. This led him to an interest in how the human eye perceives color. His research led him to work at Clark University and Dartmouth College where he was made Professor of Physiological Optics. Like Blanche, he excelled at many things. I think both Obbatinewat and Adelbert Ames look very regal in their images. Both left a stamp on their respective times.
Anne Wooster Drury Sources/Links: Easton Historical Society and Museum Adelbert Ames' Mind-Bending Illusions Optica - Adelbert Ames, Jr. The life and death of the Massachuset, by Ed Quill Comments are closed.
|