AJ Antiques

19th Century Handcarved Gingerbread Board Mould

A most attractive 19th century 'hand-carved' Dutch or Flemish gingerbread board mould. Gingerbread bakers were first known to be mentioned as early as the 14th century and by 1415 they had collectively established their own guild. The gingerbread produced at the time would have been made using a type of 'Rye Dough' with honey and spices added. The ingredients would have been rare and expensive. Nuremberg was known for its large honey supply and spices would have been sourced from the Middle East via Italy- obviously the gingerbread would only be affordable by the wealthy and the bakers themselves were held in very high esteem!
The gingerbread moulds would have had to be carved from a close grained, dense,  none toxic and odourless hardwood, and very often fruitwoods were the timber of choice. This particular example is probably Cherrywood, which has a beautiful, subtle red tone. The carvings are rather freely executed and depict common rural images: farmer, sail boat, cockerel, fish, owl and flour mill.
Probably mid 19th century, this is a charming piece with an interesting, historical background- a very decorative piece of folk art!
Dimensions- 60cm x 9cm x 2xm
Length: 60cm
Width: 9cm
Depth: 2cm
Weight: 870g