Community Chat

[SydneyH]

This painting is from the 1930's and is titled Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield.  I'm curious what people think the man in the canoe is holding in his hand.

[mistriTsquirrel]

Is that the new iPhone?

[gizmogal]

I'd guess based on the provenance of the painting and the depiction of the native, shirtless man in the canoe, with his look of fascination, and the captive man of a likely different culture nearby, native man is holding a hand mirror, perhaps seeing his own image for the first time. 

(If you're actually asking for a plausible answer!) 

[SydneyH]

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@mistriTsquirrel wrote:

Is that the new iPhone?

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That's what it looks like to me but I needed someone to say it first, lol.

[sunshine45]

the articles i read do say that it is probably a hand held mirror, or text of  gospel (which was often similar in shape), or possibly an iron blade. however, those same articles also talk about people and time-travel. it is kind of freaky!

[makena]

I find the beard very strange.

[beach-mom]

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@makena wrote:

I find the beard very strange.

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I do too. Native Americans never have facial hair. 

And I, too, think it looks like a phone! 

[dooBdoo]

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beach-mom wrote:

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makena wrote:

I find the beard very strange.

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I do too. Native Americans never have facial hair. 

And I, too, think it looks like a phone! 

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          That's not a beard.    It's his hair (braid?) which falls behind one shoulder and falls in front of the other one, appearing just below his chin.    The artist uses an abstract expressionistic style, so things like proportion or perspective aren't always realistic.    The item in his hand is most likely, as others said, a hand mirror with his unexpected reflection looking back at him -- those mirrors often were crafted in that specific shape and size, to fit the hand.     Modern mobile phones use the same design...  a shape and size to fit the hand.    Using modern-day context instead of the context of the actual time of the historic event or its depiction, people look back at older images and tend to try and project unusual and creative interpretations of what previously were just simple depictions of normal, unremarkable objects.

[qualitygal]

So who would he call?

[mistriTsquirrel]

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@qualitygal wrote:

So who would he call?

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@qualitygal  Ghostbusters...?