{"product_id":"rare-mid-to-late-19th-century-american-hand-carved-horse-drawn-funeral-hearse-eternal-flame-wood-finial-with-partially-intact-black-painted-finish","title":"rare mid-to-late 19th century american hand-carved horse drawn funeral hearse \"eternal flame\" wood finial with partially intact black painted finish","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"col-xs-12\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product info detailed\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product data items\"\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"product.info.description\" class=\"data item content\" data-role=\"content\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product attribute description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"value\"\u003eall original and intact mid-to-late 19th century antique american finally executed hand carved oversized \"eternal flame\" solid wood finial originally mounted on a horse-drawn hearse. the skillfully crafted folk art finial features a draped urn with elaborate incised handles. the decorative urn flanked by the handles represents and\/or symbolizes the \"eternal flame.\" original black enameled finish remains partially intact. unidentified artist or fabricator. the word \"hearse\" comes from the middle english \"herse,\" which referred to a type of candelabra often placed on top of a coffin. sometime in the 17th century, people starting using the word to refer to the horse-drawn carriages that conveyed the casket to the place of burial during a funeral procession. the first time a hearse on wheels was documented as being used in a funeral procession was in 1648 for the burial of colonel rainsborowe during the english civil war. later, horse-drawn hearses were known to be in use in new england and the middle colony towns before the revolutionary war. only wealthy families could afford such extravagant service. from revolutionary times until the civil war, domestic carriage makers manufactured hearses on the side. hearses were typically designed to convey a coffin and constructed in large numbers in varying degrees of grandeur; always painted black except those for children which were finished in white. hearses remained horse-drawn until the first decade of the 20th century, when motorized hearses began to appear between 1901-1907. measures 10 x 18 x 12 inches.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003csection class=\"block related\" data-limit=\"0\" data-shuffle=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50672626598186,"sku":"UR-31314-20","price":750.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0959\/7075\/4858\/files\/20200323-4v0a5602.jpg?v=1760388886","url":"https:\/\/urbanremainschicago.com\/products\/rare-mid-to-late-19th-century-american-hand-carved-horse-drawn-funeral-hearse-eternal-flame-wood-finial-with-partially-intact-black-painted-finish","provider":"Urban Remains Chicago","version":"1.0","type":"link"}