Quill and Cube, (sculpture).

Quill and Cube, (sculpture).

Rothrock, Rick, sculptor.

Ford, Thomas J., landscape architect.

Quill and Cube, (sculpture).

Constitution Quill and Cube, (sculpture).

Dedicated Sept. 17, 1988.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: stainless steel and bronze; Base: Brandywine granite.

Sculpture: approx. 13 x 5 x 5 ft. (includes cube: 4 ft. x 4 ft.; feather: 13 x 2 ft.); Base: approx. 1 x 10 x 5 ft.; Installation: approx. 16 x 40 x 16 ft.

(Surface of the cube is etched the text of the United States Constitution)

The sculpture commemorating the United States Constitution consists of a stainless steel cube standing on one corner and a feather quill of bronze leaning against it atop boulders of local Delaware granite. The text of the Constitution is inscribed on the faces of the cube. The top face of the cube is etched with thirteen stars and stripes representing the original thirteen states. The cube balances on one corner to represent the delicate balance of the three branches of the federal government. The sculpture is installed within a planter featuring five American holly trees, Delaware's official state tree. The planter is bounded by a low serpentine brick wall capped by granite stones engraved with the names of each of the original thirteen states and the dates they ratified the Constitution.

History -- United States -- Constitution

Allegory -- Civic -- Law

History -- United States -- Delaware

Object -- Other -- Writing Tool

Outdoor Sculpture -- Delaware -- Dover

Administered by City of Dover, Department of Community Services, P. O. Box 475, Dover, Delaware 19903

Located Constitution Park, State & North Streets, Dover, Delaware

The sculpture is the centerpiece of Dover's Constitution Park and was developed for the Delaware Heritage Commission and funded by state and private contributions. Plaques on nearby walls list the thirty-seven states that subsequently joined the Union and the years of their admission, the names Delaware's delegates to the Constitutional Convention, the Constitution's preamble, and Delaware's legislative deputies who ratified the Constitution and the text of their resolution of ratification. IAS files contain a brochure for the sculpture's unveiling, which gives details about Constitution Park.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Delaware survey, 1994.

Rothrock, Sue and Rick, 2013.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

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