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Carved Wooden Reaper's Coffin – Rural Folk Art
€79Bid from €71.10
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ProfessionalProduct description
Before the mechanization of the countryside, mowing was a matter of gestures, patience, and know-how. In the meadows, the mower advanced with his scythe and carried an indispensable companion at his belt: the coffin, a narrow case designed to hold the whetstone, often kept moist so that the blade's edge could be regularly sharpened without long interruptions to work. This piece takes us back to the late 19th or early 20th century, to that rural France where tools were made to last a long time, and yet people took the time to beautify the most ordinary objects. For this coffin is nothing like a simple utilitarian container. Its front has been carefully crafted with a large, sculpted rosette, almost solar, accompanied by branches and foliage. The decoration also extends to the sides, while the wood retains the irregularities and patina acquired over time. At the back, its long tab allowed it to be slipped onto the mower's belt to keep the stone within reach. This is the very essence of rural folk art. A man could dedicate time to carving and personalizing an object that, at its core, was only intended to accompany him at work. The rosette, the foliage, the geometric motifs tell of this ancient desire to bring a touch of beauty even to field work tools. With its height of approximately 24 cm, its slender silhouette, and its beautiful carved wood, it now has a completely different life. Hung against a stone wall or wood paneling, placed in a bookcase among other old objects, in a country house kitchen, or amidst a cabinet of curiosities, it becomes a true piece of rural history. An object created for work that has become, more than a century later, an object viewed for the beauty of the gesture that shaped it. Height approximately 24 cm. France, late 19th – early 20th century.
Additional details:
- Brand: 20eSiecle
- Style: Art populaire rural
- Period: fin XIXe – début XXe siècle
Specifications
ConditionVery goodMaterialWood
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About this seller
ProfessionalSaint symphorien des bois, FranceOn Whoppah since August 2026 • 1 sale