The Power of a Portrait

In this time our country was trying to establish a national identity and create unity. America was embracing ideas from the past—identified themselves with political ideas from ancient Greece and Rome (where democracy was born).
The designs on this chest weren’t just stylish but they were also symbols of America. The urns and garlands are classical emblems of ferrtitlity and abundance. It was meant to represent the growing prosperity of the new republic. You can also see the ancient influence in the columns used as decoration.