Very Lovely Early Tole Painted Box with Carrying Loop antique diamond pips Very very good/excellent condition

Very very good/excellent condition

Ritter's work and his gallery explored the Surrealist sensibility transplanted from Europe and given new life as it came into contact with popular culture in the United States

I believe the animal depicted on the lid of this beautiful presumed Japanese lacquer box is a Shi-shi or Shisa dog-- a creature resembling a cross between a lion and a dog that derives from Okinawan mythology and is perceived to be a ward protecting from evils

but overall good condition and stable

looks very much like a wrestler or strong man to me

Very Lovely Early Tole Painted Box with Carrying Loop antique diamond pips Very very good/excellent conditionIt's no great surprise that the more one looks at things and compares them, the more attuned one is to the differences among them and what makes one example feel more special than another. It's not until fairly recently that I really started appreciating antique toleware, and really paying attention to the decorative painting on pieces like this, which can be quite stunning in both bold and subtle ways. I find this a very beautiful example, New