Slate Art Appraisal

Hand-Painted Slate Folk Art Shingle

This item is a decorative folk art piece consisting of a fragment of natural grey slate, repurposed as a canvas for a hand-painted scene. The substrate is an irregularly shaped, thin slab of slate with rough, chipped edges and three small, manually drilled holes (one top center, two flanking the midsection), suggesting it was originally a roof shingle or designed to be hung with cord. The painting depicts a young girl in traditional or rustic attire, wearing a blue headscarf, red top, white apron, and pink skirt, engaged in the act of feeding chickens. The artwork includes a white hen and a dark rooster at a feeding bowl, alongside a small flying bird in the upper right. The painting style is naive and charm-oriented, typical of late 20th-century souvenir or craft fair folk art. Given the user context of 30 years, this piece likely dates to the early 1990s. The slate displays natural geological striations and minor peripheral chipping consistent with its material properties. The paint appears to be acrylic or enamel, showing good adhesion with minimal fading or flaking, though there is some light surface dust. There are no visible maker's marks or signatures, pointing to it being a handcrafted boutique item or home hobbyist creation. The overall condition is good, with the jagged edges being a characteristic of the medium rather than post-production damage.