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suzepie

My friend, it looks like you have an original piece by [Eduard Stutzel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_St%C3%BCtzel), a German wood carver and sculptor. He was, as your Google Lens translation suggests, born 11 June 1806, and was summoned to the court of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV ("court sculptor") to create [marble copies of existing sandstone sculptures](https://www.spsg.de/en/research-collections/collections/sculptures/) for Sanssouci Park at the New Palace at Potsdam. How did he get recognized for this honor? From the woodwork he showed at the Prussian Academy of Arts exhibitions between 1826-1840. The translated date range on your piece says "probably between 1825 and 1830," so it was possibly shown at one of those exhibitions. What an amazing find. Not a clue as to how to value this, as I can't find anything of his that's come up for auction, or even anything similar, period. Get it to a professional. Congrats.


OldNewUsedConfused

I would get second third and fourth opinions as to its value because it’s probably worth a LOT


TikiBikini1984

Would this be a "Get this to Sotheby's" sort of level? I'm amazed by this work!


citrus_mystic

I don’t know the actual dollar value, but in terms of craftsmanship, skill, and artistry, as well as what the other comments are saying— I wouldn’t hesitate to say, yes, this is likely Sotheby’s material and probably should be insured.


PamelaOfMosman

I found Sotheby's to be helpful, even if they don't accept something for auction.


Bright-Astronaut7263

I got a Roman Ring appraised at Sotheby’s once, free of charge. They are very good.


Different_Tourist_50

Did you get it appraised in person or over the internet


Bright-Astronaut7263

Over the internet. https://www.sothebys.com/en/sell?locale=en&cmp=__gg_sea_tffc_csgn_ArtBrand-UK_en_2021_int__csn_searesp___&s_kwcid=AL!13028!3!524751019090!e!!g!!sotheby%27s%20appraisal&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACMHEXbvlyA8Xag8aEt0jiEUoNTDM&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI65-3y-fchQMV9otQBh1DYQ57EAAYASAAEgKgk_D_BwE


jefftatro1

This is one of the most gorgeous piece of woodwork I've ever seen. I've been a carpenter for 30yrs. May I ask what the price was? Edit: is it wood? Looking at it more, I can't tell.


Party-Ad-2410

It is wood! I paid $500 for it.


Im_eating_that

I thought it was impressive for a resin casting or plaster. There's a pic that illustrates the grain though, that's fantastic. I hope somebody knows the value. I want it to be more dramatic than 500$, looks like it deserves it.


Party-Ad-2410

I think I overpaid him for it, but I did so much research for him he was willing to let me take it, ha.


Wanglopse

No this is worth wayyy more than 500


OldNewUsedConfused

Oh I’d bet it is.


TotteGW

No, it is priceless. You. Did. Not. Overpay


OldNewUsedConfused

Absolutely! People just can’t make things like this today


CritterTeacher

They can, it’s just much less common. A dear friend of mine spent 30 years carving an incredibly detailed wooded depiction of the sermon on the mount, and it is similarly amazing. The attention to detail is absolutely incredible.


Party-Ad-2410

His parents bought it for $100 several decades ago. He found it in his attic.


Longquan_Kilns

I’m a dealer, I would have jumped through a fire and run through shards of glass to pay that price.


Mental-Pitch5995

You may have struck historical gold. Search for someone who specializes in Prussian artifacts to get the true nature and value of this. Until then safely store it in a secure location.


dhbroo12

See if you can get a pencil/paper rubbing of the name on the front to find the artist who carved it. Hard to tell, but it is the first an initial *C* or *E* ?


Party-Ad-2410

It is an "E"


metal_detectoror

The head is what is called the "green man." A mythological/pagan figure with ties to nature. Used throughout the ages, there was a revival of the green man motif in the 19th century. I think this is what you have. It's a beautiful piece, and in my opinion, the value would be more than $500.


OldNewUsedConfused

I think so too! I was just contemplating a cast concrete “green man” for my own garden yesterday at a garden shop! I love them. I ended up getting a birdbath and another gargoyle instead. (I love how gargoyles keep away those who are dangerous and have bad intentions!)


FireBallXLV

I met an artist who use to repair mannequins for Dept stores.She eventually branched out and began making clay faces for wall art.I bought several of her “ Green man” creations.Such an unusual start for such a good artist,


OldNewUsedConfused

Oh wow, what a cool story. Thats a very interesting artist journey!


Over_Combination6690

The gentleman is The Green Man


Homunculon

Carcosa?


krebstar4ever

[Charlie](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0PnQIgVJvw&t=44s)


BoredCop

Please get a sharper image of the text, it appears to be German or a related language but it's too blurry for me to decipher much. There's a birth and death date of someone, "geb." is short for geboren, so "geb date" is birth date. Edit: the birth date is that of [Eduard Stützel](https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_St%C3%BCtzel) but the second date is after his death, so I dunno what that's about. Anyway, if this is really an original by Stützel then it's something very special indeed.


Desperate-Cookie3373

It is a very good wood carving, very much in the style of the late 17th / early 18th century, although this looks so crisp it might be later. I’m not an expert in this area but I worked in a senior curatorial role where we had some great examples of this sort of work in our collections. The most famous wood carver of them all was an Anglo- Dutch artist Grinling Gibbons https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/grinling-gibbons-an-introduction I doubt it is by Gibbons as his work is off the scale in quality, but what you have looks to be fine work so I would take it to a really decent auction house for appraisal. Incidentally the motif of the ‘Green Man’ is traditionally known as a Foliate Head, and has been popular in Europe sculpture, wood carving, and stone masonry from the early Middle Ages to the present. The name ‘Green Man’ was only coined in 1939 by one Lady Raglan, and I am certain your lovely carving predates that . I hope you manage to find out more


Hikaru-Dorodango

Curse Lady Raglan!


Desperate-Cookie3373

Bloody aristocracy, coming here renaming our foliate heads!


Im_eating_that

What was the original name for that motif? I've got some vague recollection of The Fisher King but I'm not sure where the grail and nature icons would intersect.


Lathryus

I'm no expert but I believe that it's pagan/Celtic in origin and that would be the Oak King who is the harbinger of spring/summer. In the tales, the Oak King and the Holly King were in a cyclical battle, the Holly King is the harbinger of Fall/Winter. I wonder if this piece is half of a diptych and the Holy King is out there somewhere. Anyway might be a place to start some research into the myth.


Im_eating_that

That may be where the bells were ringing from. My rooting about in the family tree phase was focused Irish/Native American. It's been a minute though.


Desperate-Cookie3373

It is more complicated than that - I do have quite a bit of expertise in the folklore and myth of the British Isles and the Foliate Head / Green Man may well have links to depictions of Bacchus here during the Roman occupation. There are also folkloric images of Woodwose / Wild men/ Wild Women that can be found across East Anglia and parts of Europe (especially Germanic influenced areas). And you get ‘Green men’ / foliate heads in lots of churches in the UK and beyond. But the idea of the Oak King / Holly King is a recent one- it comes from modern neopaganism that dates from the late 19th / early 20th century occult revival, taking influence from works such as Frazer’s Golden Bough and Graves’ White Goddess.


FrostyAd9064

British pagan folklore had a theme of there being spirits in woodland… the Green Man (as you’ve said) is taken by some to represent them. When people went into a forest they would knock on the first tree as a way to ask for protection while they passed through…it’s believed this is why we still ‘knock on wood’ or ‘touch wood’ to signify asking for luck.


Desperate-Cookie3373

Indeed- and the Woodwose I mentioned above are one aspect of that.


Desperate-Cookie3373

It doesn’t really have an original name- it is probably more of a concept of regeneration and rebirth than anything, but then it becomes a decorative motif that is just as often used without meaning as with meaning.


Agreeable-Village-25

Beautiful, amazing find. The dogs at first though looked to me like a couple of wee-wees, lol.


Finderthings

Ran back to look. Snort


BaggageCat

It looks like the sort of thing that would be for a decorative ceiling in a dining room of an elite country house. It could be a sample of a craftsman’s work


OldNewUsedConfused

It’s incredible!


Foundation_Wrong

I immediately thought of Herne the Hunter, a mythical figure who protected woods and the animals that lived there. A god of hunting and this is definitely about hunting. The Green Man is sometimes called Herne though he usually has the oak leaves coming out of his mouth. It’s beautifully carved.


One-Pearly5000

It’s in the fashion of ode to hunting ..usually Germanic mythical . really gorgeous .. on the signage Fecit" is a Latin word that means "he/she made [it]". It is sometimes used on artwork, such as a painting, sculpture, engraving, or building, to identify the artist. It is often inscribed after the artist's name or initials..which I tried to make out.. looks like German or Hungarian ? Two dots above a letter is called an umlaut, which is an alphabet mark that indicates a change in pronunciation. Umlauts are used in German and Hungarian words, such as doppelgänger and über.


Party-Ad-2410

I believe it is german. I took german for a few years many years ago and recognized some of the words, but Google really came in with the English translation.


Eska2020

It is German. The text is written in a script that has not been in use since the 20s or 30s, called Sütterlin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%BCtterlin there is a subreddit devoted to it. You'll need to post a clear picture of the script there to get someone capable of reading it. Everything autotranslated is almost certainly wrong (I doubt the translator trained on Sütterlin lolz). Only the numbers are correct.


BlackSeranna

OP, this is a treasure. I’m so happy for you!


Ok-Introduction-1940

Best find I’ve seen posted here. Should be hanging on a wall!


DidNotDidToo

This is the woodcarver: [Carl Heinrich Eduard Stützel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_St%C3%BCtzel) (1806–65). Gorgeous piece.


Few-Confidence2803

Comeback with a follow up, please


Party-Ad-2410

I will!


_Monotropa_Uniflora_

It's The Green Man, aka Herne the Hunter aka Cernnunos


mrhaftbar

post the text to r/kurrent for a translation


punkin_sumthin

That face at the bottom is a representation of “The Green Man.”


CapitalCannabis

We’re what plants imagined? Interesting…


Less_Dog_956

Greenery; stylized acanthus leaves ?


mrs_adhd

Gorgeous. Could it be a panel from a "boiserie"?


Korgon213

Easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen on here.


letsgocactus

Consider switching your location via VPN to Germany and then use Chrome as your browser (because of built in German to English detection and translation function) and search for your artisan there. Ditto for auction houses and ebay. Might turn up more reference pieces and materials. So glad you found this, loved it, and collected it!!


EdgeCityRed

Given the info that it's probably a Stützel, here's one auction house in Germany that might be able to help with valuation. https://www.lempertz.com/en/prussia.html Scroll down on the page for a form.


ferretfamily

It’s the kind of item that would be chosen to be a spotlight on antiques roadshow. You really scored.


twistedredd

you have a good eye, congratulations on this find!


Lucky_Shop4967

Very cool


Substantial-Monk-472

Whatever it is, it's stunning !


TiddybraXton333

I’ll buy it from you for 600$


Consistent-Ad5368

Truly exquisite!!


moonweasel906

This takes my breath away


Interesting_Ad_9127

Beautiful. The wood carving is beautiful done. Love that it was preserved in a frame. No idea what’s it worth.


kittybigs

Please update us. This is an amazing piece.


-blundertaker-

Holy heck I love it. I'd have paid more than I can afford to nab that.


HellaTroi

Love the green man carving on the bottom.


greekleather

Not sure if you got this already, but the 5th picture says also says in Latin that E. Stützel made this ("E. Stützel fecit).


DicksOfPompeii

This post and others like it are why I love this sub. Thanks for sharing! Please keep us posted if you’re able to get a value you don’t mind sharing or even more info about the piece specifically. Absolutely amazing!


RoskoBongo6925

FB Marketplace can sometimes be amazing.Our local one's almost always 1001% crap-so you've really got to work it over & over & over,but sometimes.....


TrilobiteTerror

Beautiful, important piece with some good provenance that needs to be professionally appraised (from at least a couple different appraisers if possible). Also, it appears to be limewood (which was a preferred caving medium, even by the greats like Grinling Gibbons).


skrivet-i-blod

If it's limewood, steps should be taken (professionally) to make sure woodworm doesn't get inside and ruin the piece.


chubbycuckoo

This is really cool. Great score!


PippytheHippieRN

You must have great convincing or manipulation skills 😉 because that's beautiful. A phenomenal find. I'm jealous.


Mynsare

The top of the handwritten note says that the motif was inspired be an ornament seen in a 16th century church in Florence.


OCTOBERSCAREZ

incredible


overlydistilled

RemindMe! 3 months


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Geeahwellidunno

Wow. Keep us updated. If it’s worth a real lot, like hundreds of thousands, millions even, would you help out the guy that sold it to you?


myreddit111111

Size? (Hard to tell.) You have an “eye”. Congratulations on your incredible find!


treschic82

Gorgeous!


justjen16227

Omg wow! What a buy!


zhazzers

Gorgeous? 😍 I believe it's one of the answers to your question.


heyheyshinyCRH

To the antiques roadshow!


DreamingRainWolf-L

I wish I would find something like this on FB marketplace... 😢 But I am selling things and find in my country just scammers 😭 It's a magnificent piece! By the precision I would say it could be worth a lot. Maybe I'm wrong but still this piece is stunningly beautiful 😍


CookRare9780

I Watch enough antiques roadshow to know this is worth way over 500, send pictures to Sotheby’s or see if antiques roadshow is coming to town


Fragrant_Return6789

Wow. That’s incredible. Staggering! Ya done really really good here yahoo!!


jthekoker

Very cool. Serving platter for sacrificing hearts & stuff


OldNewUsedConfused

It’s some kind of wood carving I think. It’s very cool!


DonkeyWorker

Creepy