Two very tactile vintage tools, both with beautiful patina and both visually very pleasing. Both are also good examples of affordable treen - more of which below.  Now retired from their original use, they would make wonderful decorative objects for the home.

History

Treen, "of a tree", is a generic name for small vintage and antique handmade functional household objects made of wood. Today, treen is highly collectable for its beautiful patina and tactile appeal. Before the advent of cheap metal wares in industrialized societies, and later, plastic, wood played a much greater part as the raw material for common objects. Turning and carving were the key manufacturing techniques. The selection of wood species was important, and close-grained native hardwoods such as box, beech and sycamore were particularly favoured, with occasional use of exotics, such as lignum vitae for mallet heads.

Anything from wooden plates, bowls, small boxes, spoons, shoehorns and chopping boards can be classed as treen. Domestic and agricultural wooden tools are also classed with treen, such as our wonderful mallet offered here. Their strongly functional and undecorated forms are now highly regarded by designers and collectors. We love treen.

Lead dressing mallet £39

Length 34cm  Width 15cm  Diameter 7cm

Country of origin: UK

Date of manufacture: c.1930

Material: wood

Condition: with historical knocks, chips and dints which reflect its near 100 years of use,  and which make it so desirable today.

Jamb duster £38

Length 27cm  Width 10cm  Diameter 3.5cm

Country of origin: UK

Date of manufacture: c.1950

Material: wood

Condition: excellent, considering its 70 years of use. 

Please make your selection in the box below.