Red and White Hand-painted Fire Exit Arrow Sign with Perfect Patina antique needlepoint Mid-19th century or so I'd

Mid-19th century or so I'd think

The sweetgrass has broken in one spot on the body of the basket and in one area along the edge of the lid

a teacher and a student

It still looks great

I found this textile at probably my favorite estate sale ever in Newton

Red and White Hand-painted Fire Exit Arrow Sign with Perfect Patina antique needlepoint Mid-19th century or so I'dIn my younger days I spent some time as an art critic, and I can't look at this terrific Fire Exit sign now without wanting to write about it in conceptual terms, though I'm pretty certain that was not its maker's intent! But whether or not fully aware, what they definitely managed to do was to create a very singular copy of a ubiquitous utilitarian sign a gorgeously painterly version that as such also (re)invests the language of the sign with new and