
"Heart In Hand" is a traditional folk art motif, associated with the Shakers, the Amish, the Pennsylania Dutch and the Masonic IOOF (International Order of Odd Fellows).
It was widely considered to symbolize charity, "from the heart". The IOOF considered it to represent friendship, love and truth. The process of scissor-cutting such as this is known as Scherenschnitte, an art developed in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, brought to America in the 18th century, primarily by settlers in Pennsylvania.