Little Gem
Paint Decorated Box     

New England, ca. 1820-1840.

Elaborate red and mustard-yellow foliate design boldly and dynamically painted onto a black ground. The interior wallpapered. The surface with fine craquelure. Expected period wear and abrasions. Cut nail joinery. Retains original hinges and lock.

Just 8 ¼ inches wide x 4 ¾ deep x 4 tall.

Book-page copies found in the interior indicate two other boxes by the same hand: The “DB” box in the American Folk Art Museum, gifted by Howard and Jean Lipman; and the blue-green-white decorated box, from American Hurrah, pictured in Neat and Tidy by Nina Fletcher Little.