The Mangle Board
This latest Michael Grogan Star Box™ has an antique mangle board on the lid. Mangle boards were used as a courtship or wedding proposal and also a laundry tool with which to smooth out laundry. These art forms were made from sturdy wood such as oak, birch or beech. Mangle Boards have been dated as far back as the 16th century. When used with a large rolling dowel it resulted in smoothed out linens or as a linen press. They worked quite well and were said to last a lifetime and beyond. Primarily in Northern Europe the mangle board often included a horse figure as the handle. Horse figure handles were popular in Norway and Sweden. The more beautiful the board the more likely the woman was to accept and that is why the horse figure was so popular in this region. This art form is highly collectible.
The proposing groom would carve a mangle board and leave it on his sweethearts doorstep or porch- If she took it into her home- that was a yes- If it remained - that was a no. Many times what he thought she loved or what symbolized his love for her was used in the design. This particular mangle board is most likely Norwegian as it is the figure of a horse. So horse lovers- this is beyond interesting to me! Who knew all we needed was a horse handled mangle board - and oh the horse too;
*thank you to Michael Grogan for sharing this ™star box. note: this mangle board carving was salvaged from an antique mangle board that was not intact - it was sold the day it was completed and after a trip to horse country it is at home with its horse lover.
