Cast Iron Coat of Arms of Schleswig-Holstein, dated 1860, 1st Half 20th C.
Cast iron, with original patina. A detailed, historical coat of arms made of cast iron. The quartered shield displays various territorial symbols of Schleswig-Holstein, including the two lions for Schleswig. The shield is held by a hand emerging from a crown and is flanked by rocaille. A scroll at the bottom bears a partially difficult-to-read, patriotic inscription regarding "Schleswig-Holstein" as well as the clearly recognizable year "1860", good age-appropriate condition with a beautiful, rusty patina, backside lacquered, 27 x 28 cm (HxW).
This cast iron relief is a patriotic statement from the era of the German-Danish conflict over the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The dating to 1860 places it in the politically highly tense period immediately preceding the Second Schleswig War (1864). Such heraldic depictions were a popular means of expressing German sentiment and the claim to the "Elbe Duchies." The coat of arms is an important historical document from the period of the German unification movement.