This beautifully preserved oak mangle board is very finely carved with Frisian carving motifs and with turned ivory pillars on either side.
The use of ivory to embellish mangle boards is rare.
The mangle of small linen was often done with the use of a mangle board. This involved rolling the laundry around a mangle stick. By rolling the mangle board back and forth over this stick the water was pressed out and the wrinkles disappeared.
Dutch, 18th century
One from our collection of circa 20 mangle boards.