VERY RARE EARLY 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART NEW ENGLAND PRIMITIVE, ANTIQUE DECORATED PAPER MACHE OUTER HARD SHELL & FOLDED, ACCORDION LEATHER INTERIOR POUCH EYEGLASS CASE, featuring HAND PAINTED YOUNG VICTORIAN LADY SEATED at a TABLE, HOLDING SLENDER WINE GOBLET SIGNALING to be SERVED with ONE HAND & INDEX FINGER EXTENDED UPRIGHT in the AIR

[Extraordinary figuration with only some minimal damage & loss along the lower left corner, with no repairs or 'in-painting']

(Circa 1820-1845)

Early 19th century American Folk Art New England primitive, antique hand decorated & hand painted paper-mache & leather eyeglass cases

DIMENSIONS: 

 5 ¼" Height x 2 ¾" Width ¼"- ¾" Depth  

Weight: Less than a pound 

DESCRIPTION:

Extraordinarily rare and incredibly well-preserved and in untouched, estate-fresh, honest overall antique condition. This very scarce and extremely hard-to-find early 19th century American Folk Art New England antique, primitive, hand made, hand decorated and hand painted figurative, paper mache & leather eyeglass case, demonstrates several areas of American antique, period cultural and decorative sensibilities, all seeming to intersect in one place. Firstly, we have this incredibly well-preserved, hand decorated, paper-mache exterior shell eyeglass case, seemingly without edge loss or the kind of damage often witnessed from previous use and handling. Secondly, we see the folded, accordion interior leather sleeve eyeglass pouch, remaining nearly completely intact, with no edge or corner blow-outs, cracks or loss, which is also clearly incredible. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, we see the enamel painted, hand-rendered figuration, of what appears to be a young Victorian lady in period dress, seated in a wooden chair at a table, holding a slender wine goblet and signaling to be served. Simply extraordinary and difficult to ask for figuration to portray the kind of embedded symbolism, loaded with innuendo and period cultural nuance, that this mere enigmatic figure of a young, beautiful Victorian lady, seems to be depicting. Is she only a keepsake and remembrance of a sailor, reminding him of the young love he has left far behind, while he finds himself on the high seas, at far off ports and sailing on a seemingly endless, lonely, marker-less ocean? Or perhaps could it have been equally a token or remembrance piece of a Civil War soldier, who would instantly recall the image of his young wife or fiance, every time he would retrieve his eyeglasses from this case? Whatever the profession, circumstances or predicament of the gentleman who once initially owned and used it may or may not have been, one thing is almost certain and that is he would have recalled the face and tenderness of his love every time he were to retrieve the the eyeglass from the case. A truly remarkable and incredibly well preserved piece of early 19th century American Folk Art and early American remembrance piece. Superlative. Top shelf. Truly spectacular for what it is and for the condition it still finds itself in. Was she someone's wife, fiance or was she perhaps a courtesan? Extraordinary. Very rare. Killer. 

CONDITION: 

Very Good to Excellent overall antique condition.