Archive
Click any image to view slideshow
E-Newsletter
To keep up to date with new stock, events and exhibitions, please sign up to our mailing list:
Enter email address:
18th century Stay Busk Sold
A rare carved 18th century sycamore Stay Busk. It is beautifully carved with various hearts, flowers & roundels. The reverse is carved with the date 1764 and a verse (worn in places) ‘The Rose is red, the violets blue, the Ca…….?’
9½” long / 24.2cm long
British, possibly Welsh & dated 1764
(Some wear to the lower edge)
£sold
Often given as a love token they also had a practical purpose – see below
’Stay Busks. In the eighteenth century, one might have expected to find a stay busk on a country dressing-table. Stay busks had been worn for a short time in the seventeenth century, and came into use again about 1760 and remained for nearly forty years – only going out when high-waisted dresses needing no corsets came in about 1800’ ‘The busks were triangular wedge-shaped pieces of wood or horn, 12- 15” long and about 2” wide at the top, tapering to a rounded end at the bottom.they are now extremely rare, and seldom come on to the open market.’ ‘The chip carving with the busks were decorated included all the well-known symbols such as hearts, flowers,circles, initalls of both parties and a date, and in some cases – texts, which were quite long, and were carved on the flat back of the busk.’
From Treen and other Turned Woodware for Collectors by Jane Toller, published by David & Charles 1975
Phone: 07967 728515
info@timbowenantiques.co.uk
