Important 19th Century Carved and Painted American Patriotic Stern Board Carving

Important 19th century carved and painted American patriotic Civil War period stern board carving, circa 1860. The stern board is made from 5 pieces of pine laminated together. At the top of the wings the wood is about six inches thick and tapers as it goes down the wings. At the top center is a curved piece of pine carved and painted yellow-gold in the form of a sub-burst. Flanking the sunburst are two narrow pieces of pine which form the top of the wings which are applied to a full length and wide piece of pine which spans the wings tip to tip. The bottom section of pine is quite wide and has the carved polychrome red, white and blue polychrome draped American flags with shield in the middle. On opposite ends of the flag pole are spade like carved flag pole finials and centered on the polychrome shield are pair of the eagle’s talons. The eagles head is turned facing right with a well developed brow and beak. The tongue is articulated and is painted red.
Note: Large polychrome patriotic Civil War period naval sternboards are extremely rare. (FA1096)
Condition: The carving is in fine stable condition. It has a weathered surface and retains much of the original paint.
Dimensions: Length 78, Height 25, Depth 10 inches