Peter Shand Posted 23 July , 2008 Share Posted 23 July , 2008 I have just received my great uncle's death plaque from my sisters and find the mounting unusual. It made me wonder how Death Plaques were issued to families? I have seen some plaque covers advertised. Has anyone seen this mounting before or is it perhaps something commissioned by my great-grandmother who would have received it when issued? It looks as if the design may have been intended to stand the other way up on a mantlepiece or table but, in this case, the plaque is mounted for a wall hanging. While the carving of the wreath around the plaque is quite sharp, the vertical lining is not very even or and has a number of flat spots, appearing to be either rough saw marks or hand scribed. The dark wood stain (?) and dark bronze (?) plaque make it unattractive as a whole. I would consider cleaning the plaque and / or removing it to refinish the wood to give some contrast, unless this is an example true to the period, in which case it would likely be best left as is. Any comments or advice welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphjd Posted 23 July , 2008 Share Posted 23 July , 2008 Never seen one mounted thus before. All plaques were issued in a plain wax card envelope. Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tafski Posted 23 July , 2008 Share Posted 23 July , 2008 plaques were issued to Next of kin in the cardboard envelopes which you have seen , along with a letter from the king and a scroll, plaques were mounted in many ways by the family some plain like yours some more elaborate As for cleaning the plaque in my veiw would advise not to clean its fine as it is my humble opion others might disagree tafski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyhound Posted 23 July , 2008 Share Posted 23 July , 2008 Perhaps it was made by a family member, or friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishmen1916 Posted 24 July , 2008 Share Posted 24 July , 2008 Hi Peter, I think that the plaque looks great, and some one in your family spent a lot of time on the mount, if you decide to clean up the mount, remove the plaque first and follow the advice on the link below. Any good wood worker will be able to bring the life back into the mount. http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/2001/...lia/page_22.htm Regards Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Shand Posted 27 July , 2008 Author Share Posted 27 July , 2008 Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I have decided to leave things as they are. I took the plaque out of the wood to see if there was any message inside the cavity. Unfortunately nothing. But, I did determine, from the position of brazed on threaded bolts, that the plaque was made as a wall hanging. Turning the plaque around 180 degrees, the bolts do not line up with the holes. I'll give the bronze plaque a wash in soap and water and remove two little patches of verdigris. Regards, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Foster Posted 27 July , 2008 Share Posted 27 July , 2008 Peter, Just as a matter of interest. This is another example of a wooden frame mounted Death Plaque, that I came across last year Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 27 July , 2008 Share Posted 27 July , 2008 The Patinated "Brown" finish on the plaque is "as issued" & though many have beeen polished almost flat by loving relatives those that still have this "Bronzed" finish {which can vary from almost black,green brown to a light straw colour}ideally should be left unpolished maybe just protected by a light clear wax and dusted to protect from the atmosphere The finish of the wooden mount looks to be Oak & the contemporary hue for the 1920s Whilst it may have been made by a handy relative many firms made & sold various forms of Commemorative Mount to respond to the Public clamour for a means of displaying what was often the only tangible object of their NoKs passing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 27 July , 2008 Share Posted 27 July , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Shand Posted 28 July , 2008 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2008 Thank you Chris and Harry for your posts. The wood is oak I believe and Chris's photo shows the same colouring of the wood. Interesting advertisements, Harry! Regards, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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