Door frame element featuring a central female head/mascaron, a floral motif and a top piece resembling a shell, centred with a star and surrounded by a laurel wreath Former exterior door frame element in carved limestone. France, 17th century Cut and carved limestone, displaying a beautiful antique patina. H. [ ] × W. [ ] × D. [ ] cm Provenance: according to family tradition, a former door frame from a structure designed to accommodate the tow horses used to move barges in the 17th century. An antique architectural element, bearing witness to the infrastructure associated with waterways and horse-drawn towage, a practice essential to river transport under the Ancien Régime. Condition: wear, chipping and signs of age, consistent with the piece’s age.