German carved wood / painted sign "Streut Blumen..."

Sorry, I'm not sure if this is an antique (or anywhere close to being that old), but it looks like most wood items are being discussed in this forum. This sign / wall hanging is approx 2' wide and a little over 1' tall.

Is this most likely tourist ware (a Black Forest or other German souvenir, for example)? The carving and painting are both nice, but it's a bit scuffed up. Is there anything simple I could do to minimize the appearance of the scratches? There is water staining on the back, and I'm going to leave that side as-is.

FYI - if, like me, you don't speak German - it appears that the inscription is a common German expression. Google translated it, "Streut Blumen der Liebe bei Lebenszeit Und bewahret einander vor Herzeleid," to technically mean "Spread flowers of love at lifetime and preserve each other from heartbreak."

I've never picked up anything like this before - just curious if I could find out anything about its probable origins. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

 

Hi,
A good quality paste shoe polish would clean it up and protect it.
greg

 

Thanks Greg. Like, find a polish that closely matches the wood color? If it were all shellacked / glossy like the outside edge, it would be easy to repair the topcoat.

 

Howard's Restor-a-finish is a good product. Comes in different tints to hide the scratches.
They also have a Feed & Wax. It's a liquid beeswax.

Be careful with the paste wax as you have carved details. You don't want to get the wax built up in the crevices.

 

Thanks, Pat. I've seen Howard's for sale in several shops, but never looked into it since I don't usually deal in furniture or wood products. Now I'm thinking about all the scratched tabletops I have around the house, and how handy it could be.

 

Nice!