Missouri
Jonathan Whitney (1956– )
- Medium
United States
ca. 2006
Mixed media banjo
“This walnut banjo, with an ebony fret board and bone inlays, commemorates the Missouri time of Church history. The peg box is topped with a water wheel, representing Haun’s Mill. The 3rd fret marker represents the Millennial Star; the 5th fret, a cloud with lightning, represents divine protection; the 7th fret, flintlock pistols, represents mob violence; the 10th fret, crossed sabers, represents Colonel Doniphan defying General Lucas’s order to execute the Prophet and his associates; the 12th fret, with manacles, represents the imprisonment and escape of Joseph. Around the banjo are incised a wall and 12 olive trees, signifying the parable of the vineyard in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 101. The back of the banjo incorporates scroll-saw work of the tree of knowledge, suggesting the Fall of Adam and Eve. The banjo is a fully playable musical instrument.”