Vintage Wood Parquetry Box with Lid Signed L. Watson

A beautiful, round lidded box, this handmade vintage parquetry piece features a multitude of various woods, masterfully cut and fitted together. The lid is composed of sections of a satiny pale fruitwood, possibly pear or cherry, interspersed with narrow strips of dark-stained walnut. It's topped with pointed knop of the same walnut. The underside of the lid is as perfectly done as the top is, with a 1 inch walnut circle covering the area where the knop was attached. There is a flange around the rim that enables the lid to fit snugly.

The sides of the box are maple, with a dozen shallow, narrow vertical grooves carved about an inch apart. The upper edge is trimmed with a strip of walnut. The bottom features stacked cubes of light and dark woods that alternatively can be seen as a whirling logs design (by focusing on the dark pieces only). The design can be seen on the inside bottom as well.

The box was given a natural, low luster finish. It stands 2 1/2 inches tall with a base 4 inches in diameter. When the lid is on it measures 5 inches tall to top of the knop. It weighs 1/2 pound and is in near-new condition, with no chips or cracks and virtually no wear. The highly talented artisan who made this superb mixed-woods box hand signed it on the bottom, burning in the name "L. Watson." The longer you examine this box, the more you appreciate the exacting work that went into its construction.

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