Antique Wood Industrial Architectural Primitive Gesso Molds

Antique gesso molds are rare and difficult to fine. I purchased quite a few of these from a dealer who had acquired them from a retired restoration artist. These molds were used to create the highly decorative gesso frames for oil paintings, moldings and decorative accents on furniture.

They are made by carving intricate patterns into wood which is then used to make the pitch tar mold. The pitch tar mold is then mounted within a large wood block.

These blocks are thick and industrial grade since they were intended to heavy work loads. These blocks are ideal as bookends, door stops, paper weights or you can screw hooks you can find at any hardware store in the backside and hang them on the wall.