Vintage Monumental Carved Stone Inscription Wall Panel With Greek Key Border

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Description

Monumental vintage carved stone wall panel featuring seven vertical rows of deeply incised and darkened symbols framed by a classical … Read more Monumental vintage carved stone wall panel featuring seven vertical rows of deeply incised and darkened symbols framed by a classical Greek key border. Measuring an impressive 35" × 47", the substantial stone panel has the scale and graphic presence of an architectural fragment or ancient inscription. The warm neutral stone, blackened carving and naturally aged surface give the piece considerable visual impact, whether displayed in a library, study, entry or collected interior. Previously displayed as wall art, the panel retains hardware for hanging. Please note: This is a substantial and very heavy stone panel. Appropriate wall anchors and professional installation are recommended. Hanging hardware is included.

AND THE INSCRIPTION? It isn't quite what it appears to be. The mysterious symbols are actually a cryptogram concealing a rather unexpected message—the secret of which is revealed in the Collector's Note below.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE
The inscription isn't what it first appears to be. Rather than an ancient language, the symbols form a substitution cipher concealing a familiar passage by one of the most celebrated writers in the English language. Once decoded, they reveal Shakespeare's Hamlet: “To be, or not to be, that is the question...”

That unexpected collision of literary history, puzzle-making and decorative art is what makes the panel so intriguing. From across the room it has the presence of an archaeological inscription; only on closer examination does its decidedly Western—and wonderfully clever—identity emerge.

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Complete Translation: "TO BE OR NOT TO BE THAT IS THE QUESTION WHETHER TIS NOBLER IN THE MIND TO SUFFER THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE OR TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST A SEA OF TROUBLES AND BY OPPOSING END THEM" See less