Folk & Fable Antiques
This painting is a beautifully grim piece of social history. Signed simply with the initials ‘I.D.’, the artwork centres on a stark black grave marker bearing a ghostly French inscription: “Ici Repose Le Corps de Duchoey... Priez Dieu pour s[on âme]” ("Here Reposes the Body of Duchoey... Pray to God for his soul").
**RESERVED FOR CARSTEN** Antique Framed 19th Century Mourning Watercolour Signed & Dated 1872 + Associated Ephemera
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A haunting antique framed 19th century mourning watercolour painting, signed and dated 1872, along with some fascinating associated ephemera.
This painting is a beautifully grim piece of social history. Signed simply with the initials ‘I.D.’, the artwork centres on a stark black grave marker bearing a ghostly French inscription: “Ici Repose Le Corps de Duchoey... Priez Dieu pour s[on âme]” ("Here Reposes the Body of Duchoey... Pray to God for his soul").
A hand painted skull and crossbones anchors the centre as a direct memento mori, while a gnarled, leafless tree twists upward like skeletal fingers. At the base, sharp thistles erupt from the dirt, traditional symbols of earthly sorrow guarding the forgotten plot.
Housed in a wonderful age worn antique frame of the same period, its chipped, dark aesthetic only adding to the mood of the painting.
It comes with some associated ephemera belonging, I assume, to the artist. It consists of a two page handwritten monologue, a curious wax seal with an anchor on it and a print of Leila, a fictional character from the 1838 Victorian historical romance novel, ‘The Siege of Granada’. Leila's tragic narrative in The Siege of Granada involves a doomed love story ending in her dramatic death at the hands of her own father.
Interestingly, at the end of the written monologue it sheds some light on the meaning and purpose of the wax seal. It would seem that Dr Donne, the deceased, would give these wax seals to people he considered to be of great importance to him.
The final text reads:
“These seals Dr Donne gave or sent to most of those friends on which he put a value. And at Mr Herberts death these verses were found wrapt up with that seal, which was by the doctor given to him. When my dear friend could write no more, he gave this seal, and so gave o’er. When winds and waves rise highest, I am sure,
this anchor keeps my only faith, that me secure.”
this anchor keeps my only faith, that me secure.”
This is a masterclass in 19th century macabre.
Condition is good, commensurate with age. Some areas of wear to the corners of the painting inside, and to the frame it’s housed in. Wear and discolouration to the ephemera.
Measures 42cm x 34cm x 2cm
Weighs 1200 grams
