Red and White Hand-painted Fire Exit Arrow Sign with Perfect Patina antique needlepoint The rectangular frames on each

The rectangular frames on each side hold small mirrors

The puzzle top opens and closes through three moves--first swinging out the short top piece of the lid

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 single mushroom took about 15 days to complete from clay sculpture to final firing and each is a little work of art  avidly collected for their beauty as well as their botanical accuracy

Red and White Hand-painted Fire Exit Arrow Sign with Perfect Patina antique needlepoint The rectangular frames on eachIn 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