Folk Art of Europe & Rest of World »
Large Primitive Hardwood Mortar with Pestle
Ref: 3997
An extraordinary over-sized mortar made from five thick boards worn smooth by weather and use and achieving a sculptural presence worthy of the modern primitivist Brancusi - and indeed this is the very type of thing that Brancusi saw in his youth in the countryside and which inspired his later inventions.
The construction of the this mortar is beautifully simple not unlike a boarded coffer and this is a piece that is hard to date but is in all likelihood genuinely early rather than just early looking. It comes with a large 2-handled pestle and the lower part has metal rods possibly later replacements for wooden parts forming a mesh onto which chunks of maize would sit and be ground or mashed. Maize was the staple diet of the peasantry in this part of Europe much as potatoes were in Ireland.
The bottom of the boards have been shaped artfully into feet so the piece is freestanding and can be used in an interior as ornament or planter - that is if someone does not buy it for a museum of rural life.
High Carpathians 17th/18th cent.
H: 120cm (47.2in)
W: 38cm (15.0in)
D: 42cm (16.5in)
SOLD
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