Eagle
The American bald eagle was adopted by the United States Congress for the national seal in 1782. It soon became the most popular of patriotic decorative motifs. This carved-and-gilded eagle, with its wings proudly spread, is posed on a rocklike base. One of the largest of its type, it may have been the work of a carver of ship figureheads; however, it does not appear to have been used as a ship’s ornament or placed on the outside of a building, as it shows no signs of weathering.
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