{"product_id":"shipwreck-find-off-the-cornish-coast-early-19th-century-antique-carved-wood-ships-trailboard-fragment","title":"Rare Shipwreck Find off the Cornish Coast - Very Large Early 19th Century Antique Carved Wood Ship's Trailboard Fragment","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eAn original carved and gilt-decorated trailboard fragment from an early 19th-century sailing vessel, salvaged from a wreck on the Cornish coast. Trailboards were fitted in pairs either side of a ship's bow, running between the figurehead and the hull planking, following the raking sweep of the cutwater — a decorative convention that softened the transition from carved figurehead to plain hull.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe fragment is carved in high relief with a cornucopia spilling fruit, flowers and berried foliage, from which issues a continuous scrolling band of gilt acanthus leaves and rosettes against a rich blue-painted ground — the cornucopia, a classical emblem of abundance and prosperity, a popular choice for merchant vessel ornament of the period. The carving tapers to a shaped point, following the naval architecture of the bow. The reverse is left as sawn timber, weathered silver-grey, retaining old iron hooks from a later period of display.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eSourced from a collection of shipwreck and maritime salvage; The scale, gilding and quality of carving are consistent with a vessel of some standing rather than a modest coastal trader. The scale, gilding and quality of carving are consistent with a vessel of some standing rather than a modest coastal trader. Comparable decorative ship carvings are held in institutional maritime collections, including \u003cstrong\u003eThe Valhalla Collection\u003c\/strong\u003e at Tresco Abbey Garden and the \u003cstrong\u003eNational Maritime Museum, Greenwich\u003c\/strong\u003e, though this fragment's specific wreck origin remains undocumented.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e England. Early 19th-century. Salvaged from the Cornish coast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Carved wood panel with blue paint and gilding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Genuine wear, old paint losses and grain splitting to the timber are consistent with age and prolonged salt-water exposure before recovery. The board appears to have been repainted at some point historically.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions: \u003c\/strong\u003e63in (160cm) long x 13¾in (35cm) high x 5½in (14cm) deep\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54395708703062,"sku":"HAF7365","price":1450.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0782\/7462\/5878\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_ba1a1066-73ec-4f1a-950a-8633db69f983.jpg?v=1782918766","url":"https:\/\/holtantiquefurniture.com\/products\/shipwreck-find-off-the-cornish-coast-early-19th-century-antique-carved-wood-ships-trailboard-fragment","provider":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}