Compass Rose Encircled in Red Rings, Sublime Hand-painted Early 19th Century Snuff Box masonic keystone side cast gaze of this

side cast gaze of this young woman seeming to sparkle with a coy mischievousness

Yet while the formal execution is its own accomplishment

) cracked but stable (there's a bit of old chipping along the top edge

Founded in London in 1865 and arriving in the US in 1880

I am pretty certain the subject here is a hunter consuming a freshly killed seal

Compass Rose Encircled in Red Rings, Sublime Hand-painted Early 19th Century Snuff Box masonic keystone side cast gaze of thisAnother object that for me is pure perfection. The color, the paint, the patina, and what better than a compass rose at the center of a snuff box to carry around in one's pocket as one navigates through the world? Sublime, right down to the small white dots midway between each point of the star, and with those red rings evincing a target, as if this were the north star, to keep forever in one's sights. 2 15 16" d x 11 16" t. Just gorgeous paint,