WHAT the? It looks like Jesus climbed up and took the ladder up after him! Actually, this is an image of, well...a totem pole? A crucifixion? Note horse, rider and weathervane! A serious conglomeration of carver crafts all mounted on one goofy pole! Incongruity defined!
This is a 1914 German postcard from the Black Forest area. Long known for their carvers (of the most bizarre things...bear cubs holding a bench up, pile of pile upon pile of fake wooden deer heads with antlers, crazy cuckoo clocks, various gnomes and yodelers) and every damn one of them BROWN. They HAD paint, as seen here, but for some reason never used it.
The carvings might be German, they might be Swiss, but they are all brown. For those of you interested, the Black Forest belongs completely to the state of Baden-Württemberg and comprises the city of Pforzheim as well as the following districts (Kreise). In the north: Enz, Rastatt and Calw; in the middle: Freudenstadt, Ortenaukreis and Rottweil; in the south: Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Lörrach and Waldshut. Does that help? As you can see, Ida visited.
I remember once a dealer had dumped like two hundred Black Forest carvings on tables at the 26th Street Flea Market (R.I.P)...most of them deer heads and most of them busted up. No one showed any interest at all.
German "Postkarte" mailed 1914 Collection Jim Linderman
NOTE: An outstanding and thoughtful interpretation of this piece appears on the beautiful site "THE JESUS QUESTION" HERE. by Victoria Emily Jones. Very much appreciated and recommended...and a great site.
Dull Tool Dim Bulb Books
No comments:
Post a Comment