-Santa with Tree- still bank c. 1900

Editor: This is a metal sculpture titled "-Santa with Tree- still bank," dating back to around 1900. It’s folk art, created by the Wing Manufacturing and Plating Company in Chicago. The peeling paint gives it such a tangible history. What stands out to you about it? Curator: I’m particularly drawn to the materiality of this piece. Consider the conditions of its production – the Wing Company, specializing in plating, likely employed specific labor practices, and the choice of metal suggests a desire for durability and, perhaps, affordability for a mass market. Editor: Affordability? I wouldn't have thought of that. Curator: Absolutely. Think about who was buying these banks. They weren't necessarily luxury items. The material, its mass production, connects it to broader economic and social trends. Furthermore, note how the sculpture challenges the divide between art and craft. It's mass produced, yet figurative; what assumptions are being challenged? Editor: The history of labor comes to mind. How plating workers, perhaps immigrants or laborers, mass-produced what became prized by individual kids to hold their saved coins...I wonder if they knew whose piggy bank that might someday become. Curator: Precisely. The use of potentially cheap metal transformed through labor into something precious enough for children to carefully store their money speaks volumes about early capitalist desires and production. What more can be learned about Wing Manufacturing and Plating? Editor: I learned that focusing on process reveals so much, bridging art and the larger socio-economic context of early 20th-century America. Thank you! Curator: The piece now has deeper resonances for me as well. Considering who bought this product adds a layer I had not previously recognized.