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Large Antique Painted Pine Armoire with Folk Legend
Ref: 5580
A museum quality piece, a large scale antique pine marriage cupboard with remarkable relief carved figures and paintings to four panels and sides. The figure of a bearded man with loincloth who appears on the top panel of each door may at first recall Hercules or Samson, but he is undoubtedly the German folklore figure, Rubezahl. Rubezahl appears on maps of Central Europe as early as the Renaissance, he is the presiding spirit of place and overlord of the Krkonose Mountains that border Poland, Bohemia, Silesia & Eastern Germany, he was a shapeshifter appearing variously as a wodewose (wild man), old crone or (as here) a giant. Related to Wodin, the chief god of the Norse mythology, he was prone to violence and vengeance, and on a sunny day could call up a storm, thunder, lightening, fog or snow, he was an enactor of judgements, faring ill to those who thwarted him, but he was also known as a protector of the poor, a bread-giver, a defender of the hard working & honest peasantry of the mountain villages, it is said he tested people, if your heart was found to be pure he would reward you by becoming a guide and take you to the secret treasure hidden in the mountain fastness. These folk tales were an influence on Tolkien and Rubezahl influenced the formation of the character of Gandalf.
This cupboard breaks down into pieces, the top is separate, so too the base or plinth, the doors lift off pin hinges, the main body is secured by wooden pegs and can come in two if necessary. There is a splendid original lock and key and long iron hook to secure the left door and wooden hanging pegs within.
Central Europe mid-18th cent
H: 194cm (76.4in)
W: 198cm (78.0in)
D: 66cm (26.0in)
SOLD
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