Black and Gold Lacquer Antique Chinoiserie String Holder Box baseball player carving Primitive and contemporary at once

Primitive and contemporary at once

or use the loops on the back (made for strapping to a belt) to hang it on the wall in the kitchen or bathroom filled with matches or bandaids or little objects or whatever

exuberant stubble

which I'd guess dates to the first half of the 20th century

it is beautifully made and has a great presence--as much as a sculpture as a functional vase

Black and Gold Lacquer Antique Chinoiserie String Holder Box baseball player carving Primitive and contemporary at onceI've found a very close match of this lovely small lacquer string holder that describes it (with some authority) as English Victorian era Chinoiserie, late 19th or very early 20th century. Made of lacquered papier mache, it features wonderful gold toned decoration, different on all sides, depicting figures engaged in a variety of scenes, including one figure smoking from a pipe, another holding a fan, another reading, and another who appears to be