Birth and Baptismal Certificate for Elisabeth Portzline

Dateca. 1810

Attributed to Francis Portzline (1771-1857)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, York County

MediumWatercolor and ink on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Support: 13 1/8 x 16 1/4in. (33.3 x 41.3cm) and Framed: 16 7/8 x 20in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1939.305.1

DescriptionA horizontal format certificate rendered in pale brown and green, with dark brown for the angels' hair. A rectangular reserve in the center contains most of the text; a few words appear in a circle criss-crossed by plant stems below the rectangle. A round flower bloom is at top center flanked by a bird perched on each side of the top of the text rectangle. Flying angels fill each upper corner with, below them, sprays of tulips bearing 3-4 blooms and, in the lower corners, confrontal birds.

The 1 1/2-inch mahogany-veneered frame with an added 7/8-inch gilded liner is probably a period replacement.

Label TextThe child for whom the certificate was made was a daughter of the artist and his wife, Sabina Heiges Portzline. Elisabeth Portzline was born December 1, 1809, and baptized by Pastor Ettinger of the Reformed Church in York County on January 1, 1810.

Elisabeth's certificate lacks the precise draftsmanship and vivid color that characterize Portzline's work of the 1840s and 1850s, but the motifs and their placement within the composition support an attribution to the artist. If, as conjectured, the certificate indeed dates as early as ca. 1810, then the time differential might account for the stylistic distinction.
InscribedHandwritten in ink in fraktur-style lettering is:
[within block]: "Diesen beiden Ehgatten als frantz/portzline und seine eheliche hausfrau/ Sabina, eine geborne Heigesin ist eine Tochter zur/welt geboren als Elisabeth Portzline ist zur/welt geboren im Jahr unsers herrn Jesu/1809 den 1ten Tag December um 11 uhr abends/und von hernn Ettinger pfarrer der/Refermirten Gemeine den 1ten Tag Jenner/1810 getauft und genenet wie oben gemeldet/Taufzeugen sind vater und muter/oben gemeldete Elisabeth ist geboren in Ameri:/im Staat pennsilvanien. in york caunty."
[within circle at bottom]: "Gott. allein/die Ehre"

The English translation reads:
[within block]: "To these two married people, namely Frantz Portzline and his lawful wife Sabina, nee Heiges, a daughter was born into the world, namely Elisabeth Portzline was born into the world in the year of our Lord Jesus 1809, the 1st day of December at 11 o'clock at night and baptized by Mr. Ettinger, Pastor of the Reformed congregation January 1, 1810, baptized and named as above stated. Sponsors were father and mother. The above named Elisabeth was born in America in the state of Pennsylvania in York County."
[within circle at bottom]: "To God alone be glory."
ProvenanceFound in Chambersburg, Pa., by Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY, and purchased from her by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who was CWF's donor.