SUPERB!
Paint Decorated
Love Token Box  

Likely Maine, ca. 1820, precisely made and decorated with great care for a special person. Appears to be basswood.

In a brick-red ground with green borders, highlighted with a pair of light-yellow ochre hearts on the front panel and single hearts on each end. The hearts are embellished with ornamentations in the same buff paint, the panels enclosed within orange lines. Initialed on the lid ‘H’ and ‘F or T.

The paint is protected by varnish that has taken on a highly crazed texture creating a superb surface quality, both visually-and by touch. The case is beautifully dovetailed; the inside perimeter with dust barrier. Remarkable structural condition just missing the hasp. The brass pull and hinges are original. Minor paint rubs and two dry drip spots on the top, with tiny paint splatters on the front.

Appealing small size of just 10 inches long x 6 ½ deep x 6 ¼ tall.