Curious Antique Snuff Box Shoe with Nails All Over dragon nutcracker A great old corkscrew

A great old corkscrew

but when the time comes

This beautiful vintage Japanese lacquer box

The existence in the world of things such as this that exemplify such love and care I find truly heartening

dot-less fronts that I really love

Curious Antique Snuff Box Shoe with Nails All Over dragon nutcracker A great old corkscrewI'm not quite sure what to see about the decoration on this antique shoe shaped snuff box; it's a bit of a mystery to me. One often sees piqu work on pieces like this decorative work made by inlaying tiny points or pins of silver, gold or other metal but here the metal bits are irregular and not sanded down, making for a rough, snagg y surface, and there are also a fair number of unfilled holes. Maybe it was never finished, or maybe suspended in a