john_zxz Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I found this painting on an Art website (http://www.artfindin...SMITH/8633.html) I you look closely, you'll notice that the anvil is upside down on the stump. Any clues for this setup except that the real face would have been damaged? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seldom (dick renker) Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 looks like perhaps the bottom is being used as a swage block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Beautiful church windows on that anvil. I agree with the swage block idea. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Getting ready for an indoor anvil shoot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 He just doesn't want to get any Velveeta cheesy slopp on the face during lunch....... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 There is a lot of symbolism in art. Especially old European art. The didn't have TV, no Internet and no movie theaters. Art wasn't just fun to look at. It was almost always commissioned as artist couldn't afford to paint simply what they wanted. It was usually what they were told to paint. Consequently, painters and other artist became the editorialists of the day and their work often contained hidden as well as deliberately not so hidden messages. Perhaps this inverted anvil was a commentary about the times. Maybe the economy was particularly bad at the commission of this work. Since blacksmiths played such a large role in the community, could an up-side-down anvil represent this economic decline?? Or did I totally miss the boat in my college Art History class :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOblacksmith0530 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 There is a lot of symbolism in art. Especially old European art. The didn't have TV, no Internet and no movie theaters. Art wasn't just fun to look at. It was almost always commissioned as artist couldn't afford to paint simply what they wanted. It was usually what they were told to paint. Consequently, painters and other artist became the editorialists of the day and their work often contained hidden as well as deliberately not so hidden messages. Perhaps this inverted anvil was a commentary about the times. Maybe the economy was particularly bad at the commission of this work. Since blacksmiths played such a large role in the community, could an up-side-down anvil represent this economic decline?? Or did I totally miss the boat in my college Art History class @ Dodge, see your ma was right education aint wasted time...... This was my thought since it is a painting I could not have put it anywhere near this clearly though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_zxz Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Dodge, your explanation sounds very good to me. You may be right about this. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I DID look very closely and that anvil is surely right side UP! It is just an older type of anvil and so looks a bit strange to modern eyes. You can clearly see the wear and crowning on the top surfaces if you click on the picture to see it enlarged. It even has a hole in the center of the anvil for tooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 The "actual" title of the painting was"The morning after the party at the smithy" :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I wonder how they got their wives to work in the shop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Ya I think you may be on to something ianinsa- the kid looks like he had too much punch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 i think this is more than symbolism if you look you can see that the anvil is pined to the stump through the pritchel hole so i am inclined to think this being used as a swadge block Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I DID look very closely and that anvil is surely right side UP! It is just an older type of anvil and so looks a bit strange to modern eyes. You can clearly see the wear and crowning on the top surfaces if you click on the picture to see it enlarged. It even has a hole in the center of the anvil for tooling. You do seem to be correct it is up right , the photo shows it was done in 1831 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I DID look very closely and that anvil is surely right side UP! It is just an older type of anvil and so looks a bit strange to modern eyes. You can clearly see the wear and crowning on the top surfaces if you click on the picture to see it enlarged. It even has a hole in the center of the anvil for tooling. Your wrong, the anvil is clearly upside down. Look at the huge horn on the bottom sticking to the left. No one ever put a horn on the bottom of an anvil. Also no one ever put a hole in the middle of the face of an anvil, it must be a handling hole. Handling holes are shallow square holes that are forged into anvils why they are being built. They are used to help move the anvil around while forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 "Colonial" anvil , http://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/postman/postman.htm And http://www.blackiron.us/anvil-types.html in 1831 theColonial Anvils had many sides and uses . Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I am going to stay with "upside down" if you look at the surface against the stump it appears to have dressed edges. You may have to open the image in a separate window or tab to enlarge it and see. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I am not saying that they never hammered on the bottom or the sides. Its vary likely they were using it at a swage. But regardless there is a horn on the bottom of the anvil, and the church windows are arched upside down. Clearly there is a top to the anvil, and the anvil is upside down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Yeah I didn't see that horn (realize what it was). I think those smiths just thought of it as working on the "other" side... not upside down. You can see that it is worn and crowned on the "face" that is up at the time of the picture. They likely flipped it often depending on the work that they were doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron J. Cergol Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I once had an anvil that was nearly identical. From France most likely. the date is Hardto say, but I have seen them in art from the 1700's onward. It too had a hardy hole off on one side which would make me a bit more reluctant to form hardies in it. Not having a swage lock, and considering they are of similar sizes, using the handling hole as a bolster just makes sense. Mine was over 300lbs and had that same Transition from the horn to the body. Also, this is one of the few anvils where the church windows could actually be utilized; some of the. Later period German ones were far too deep and rough to do much good with forming in. Lastly, the curve between the heel and the of anvil had a very nice shape for forming. Large (or small) radiused shapes. Also not that just before the horn there is what looks like a large nail, or bolt protruding from the upside down hard hole...I am thinking this is to hold the anvil steady upside down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 In the description of the painting it says that the artist painted with a "string of humor". So my guess is that this painting is like the puzzle pictures that are in the comic page of the news paper that asks you to find five things wrong with this picture. So did you find all the things wrong with the picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I wonder how they got their wives to work in the shop... There were rules about it. Women could be journeyman smiths in the shop of their husband, father, or brother. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 'I wonder how they got their wives to work in the shop...' "Honey can you come help with this job? Else we won't eat this week!" I've used the bottom om my anvils for certain tasks and there was a 5th generation smith in Stroud OK who had an old oilfield bridge anvil with the face pounded to uselessness (pretty common in the old oilfields) who had built a frame to flip it over and used the wide base to flatten plow points on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 In the description of the painting it says that the artist painted with a "string of humor". So my guess is that this painting is like the puzzle pictures that are in the comic page of the news paper that asks you to find five things wrong with this picture. So did you find all the things wrong with the picture? I dunno guys. At full scale, I'm seeing a horn extending from stump level with the feet clearly spreading out at the top which gives credence to Bentiron's as well as Bidred's posts. To folks back then, that would have been hilarious. Art was also used as entertainment before before movies and television as well as being used as a political platform. How many other "whats wrong with this picture" things can you see?? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Whoever the artist was he's surely laughing his keester off at us right now, he was likely buried face down so the whole world can kiss his bum.... :lol: ...Just like the anvil. It's a church window anvil right? And the arches are always at the top, right? I still think there my be some ceedence to the Velveta lunch senario, The boy is eating and the maid at the forge is holding a bowl, eagerly anticipating the hot, gooey, golden sludge ......... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.