Dramatic Old Folk Art Very Heavy Soldered Iron Cross 1980s toy evoking and implying a whole

evoking and implying a whole lot through a small gesture

I believe this huge hand-painted claw likely dates to the early 20th century

I love a box with a name or monogram painted on it

and then this intense profusion of long nails

Dramatic Old Folk Art Very Heavy Soldered Iron Cross 1980s toy evoking and implying a wholeWeighing in at almost nine pounds, this cross is not to be moved! I love it for its emphatic materiality, and dramatic tilt (seems very Rock of Ages to me, as if Faith herself should be clinging to it amid a stormy sea). And I love it for all the effort put into all that soldering around the base, looking like the roots of trees (or streaming seaweed.) All of which, together with a sort of God's Eye at the center, adds up to a super folky but also