Very Primitive Antique Flax Hetchel narrow base stretched over a pine frame

stretched over a pine frame

with holes at the far corners for hanging on the wall

Losses as evident but completely stable now

43” wide x 100” long

4 3/8” diameter x 3 1/8” t

Very Primitive Antique Flax Hetchel narrow base stretched over a pine frameI'm always admiring old hetchel, which were used to comb flax in preparation of spinning it into thread, but this small scale one is the first I've really felt compelled to purchase, as it seems to me just about the most primitive, distilled iteration of the tool I've seen, and pure sculpture at the same time. Just two rows of old iron teeth here, beautifully rusted and bent here and there, a handful of them a little loose, such that they can be