Antique Danish Mangle Board Wedding Love Gift Painted Wood, Horse Handle, 1803

Antique Danish mangle board (clothing and bedding press) dated 1803.

It is made from oak wood which is hand carved with a rich decoration of geometric blossoms. Painted in the colours green, white, brown and reddish brown. The handle is a carved horse with tail of horse hair.

The wooden mangle board has a long tradition in Europe and especially the Scandinavian countries and goes back to at least the mid 15th century. In the 17th you find more richly decorated mangle boards and painted with one to three colors. They now became a courtship gift offered by the man to his bride-to-be prior to the wedding day. The production of mangle board peaked at the end of the 18th century.

The mangle board is in a good used condition with normal signs from age and use and it has a beautiful patina. There are a few dry cracks on back and sides and the usual tiny holes from borers. 

Measurements
Length: 61 cm
Width: 9 cm - 12.5 cm
Height: 14 cm