Sold: Weathered Hearse Panel

Antique hand-carved wooden panel from a horse-drawn hearse, c. mid-19th century. Carved with striking verisimilitude, with elaborate tassel. Handsomely aged and weathered, and probably from a carriage which was in service for many years and then languished outdoors before this panel was salvaged.

A suite of these panels would have been inset into the frame of a horse-drawn hearse which once led funeral processions to the cemetery. The carved wooden curtains were intended to recall a more lavish and traditional funeral carriage laden with black mourning drapery. Already weighted with symbolism, the funereal folk carving seems to speak to the impenetrable mystery and certainty of death, but also the fixed nature of fate. Carved in wood, this final curtain does not fall, but is set before us, undeniable and irreversible.

From a Vermont collection of folk art hearse panels.

Measurements

24 inches tall

12 inches wide

1.25 inches deep

Condition

Good weathered, antique condition, with paint loss, chipping, scratches, and other wear. See photos.

Shipping

Free in the continental United States. If an international buyer, please contact me for a shipping estimate by clicking here.

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