SCARCE -19th C Antique SCARY German Christmas Folklore Wooden Carved Cookie Mold

Description: This 19th century, hand carved wooden cookie mold features two terrifying characters from German folklore. The top character is the Christmas hag Frau Perchta who would capture children and eat them. She's shown here with a baby in her hand. She would visit on Twelfth Night expecting food as an offering, but if she was displeased with the offering, or if the house was not clean, or if the woman of the house had not woven her quota of flax for the year, Frau Perchta would slit open offender's belly and pull out the guts, replacing them with stones and straw. The bottom carving is Belsnickel, a menacing character who bears some similarities to Santa Claus, but Belsnickel has a tendency to violence. One or two weeks before Christmas, Belsnickel would rap on the windows of a house with his big stick, and then charge in, demanding to know if the children there have been well-behaved. Children who convince Belsnickel of their goodness would be rewarded with gifts, but children who were unable to answer his questions or to prove their good deeds would be punished with his stick. As carved here, both characters have a terrifying appearance with big hooked noses and scary, open mouths. The carving is very well done with lots of interesting details. This cookie mold is a one-of-a-kind treasure. It seems to have never hung on a wall. There was a bit of dried cookie dough in the tip of Frau Perchta's nose and her mouth and I dug out most of that. There are a few old worm holes in the wood and some dough is stuck in a couple of them, too. The wooden board that this is carved into is light in color (possibly linden wood), finely textured and smooth. Its shape is irregular -- not perfectly straight sided, adding to its hand made character. MEASURES: about 20.5" long, by 4.5" wide, by .5" to .75" deep WEIGHS: 1 lb. 1.5 oz.

Price: 150 USD

Location: Richmond, Virginia

End Time: 2024-11-12T08:15:08.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD