A rare piece of 19th century Cornish folk art. Chip-carved oak box frame made specifically for the central, photographic portrait, possibly as a 'memento mori'. The elements of the frame are deeply cut, and boxed behind the original, Victorian glass. Even the support stand to the rear has been hand-carved. The photograph features a young man in military uniform that suggests that he was in the British Cavalry, either serving in the Zulu War or one of the Boer Wars, dating it somewhere between 1879 and 1899. In very good, original condition.