Interesting Old Carved Whimsy with Ball on Chain Inside Cage bald What sold me on this

What sold me on this 19th century snuff box is the juxtaposition between the  fineness of its decoration and the clearly hand-scratched "Mary

I am pretty certain these wonderful hand-painted turned wooden pins or skittles are French and that they date to the 1920s or so

with no chips cracks or other flaws that I can see

Note: photo of painting frame shows glare

The vase features a celadon body decorated with a blue tree that branches beautifully around its perimeter and is punctuated with white moriage blossoms

Interesting Old Carved Whimsy with Ball on Chain Inside Cage bald What sold me on thisAnother in my never ending collection of whimsies, and this unlike another I've seen. Inside the nicely carved tall cage is a five link chain that is attached at one end of the cage interior but hangs loose inside, terminating in a ball. Pretty cool! And skillfully done, quite a long time ago I believe. It stands on end, making it a great one for just setting on the shelf, with a bit of the feeling of an hourglass, or a pendulum, trapped forever from