Swiss Wall Brackets

A superb antique Black Forest chamois or mountain goat wall bracket shelf hand carved in Switzerland, circa 1900. This fine bracket features a handsome chamois with glass eyes surrounded by intricately carved leaves. It's perfect for your rustic lodge decor...

Black forest carved wall shelf in Lindenwood, with a central carved stag on a shaped plaque with carved oak leaves and tassels, below a shaped and molded shelf, Brienz, Switzerland, ca. 1880. Jay Arenski, et al, quotes Swiss Poet Heinrich Federer, who said in his memoirs, "Woodcarving brought riches to the village [of Brienz]. It became all the fashion and no Englishman left the Bernese Highlands without having seen the Giessbach, having eaten a fat roasted eel, and having bought a Brienz woodcarving." Arenski goes on to say, "Thus, as the tourist industry flourished and thrived, so did the carvers, selling their wares to the well-heeled visitors." This fashion had been set in motion by Queen Victoria's visit to the area in April 1868, and by her subsequent inspiration to build a Swiss chalet at Osborne House and fill it with Black Forest Swiss carvings...

Geographically speaking, “Black Forest” denotes the forested mountain range in southwest Germany. Since the early 1800’s, the phrase has been used to describe elaborate animal wood carvings, as the figures were thought to have originated in the Black Forest of Germany. It is believed that in the 1850s, the Trauffer’s, a family of woodcarvers, began popularizing the “black forest style” through their handicrafts, furniture making and their instruction in carving at a school in Brienz Switzerland. The popular notion that the Black Forest style has its roots in the the Bavarian Black Forest, in Germany, is likely mistaken. By 1910 there were some 1,300 cottage industries of woodcarvers in the environs of Brienz and the Black Forest style of carving became a major economic force and home industry throughout Switzerland. The communities of Luzern and Interlaken also became noted for these handicrafts. The popularity of black forest carvings was driven by both a strong tourist industry and the crafts movement. The “Black Forest” style describes wooden sculptures or carved replicas of nature’s bounty, incorporated into the design of household items. Antique Black Forest handicrafts exemplify Swiss folk art traditions and are seen in carved clock cases, hall trees, desks, picture frames, chairs and all variety of decorative objects and furnishings. Walnut and linden wood is typically used. The black forest style is the accomplished carving and trained whittling of realistic tree branches, twigs, bears, birds, deer, rabbits, edelweiss flowers and such Both of the brackets seen here feature a small, shaped shelf with a thin recessed molding along the underside. They rest on top of a tripartite tree trunk support, just above an eagle with wings displayed and expanded perched on a branch. Each eagle grips its prey with its talons. Additional branches dotted with small flowers surround each bird. The birds have been presented looking in opposite directions, allowing for them to be displayed on either side of a piece of art or architectural element. Our pair of Swiss black forest eagle wall brackets...

We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning original circa 1890 Swiss Black forest wood Whip Hook of a Rabbit games keeper A very rare find, this is a medium whip hook, they ...

A Swiss Black Forest wooden bracket from the late 19th century, with hand-carved eagle and oak leaves. Born in Switzerland in the later years of the 19th century, this exquisite wall...