19th Century Iroquois Beaded Silk and Linen Frame with Pair of Squirrels (tintype not included) Russian stockinette doll I believe it is safe

I believe it is safe to categorize this one as a sampler

As you can see

that it is a “Shutter dog”— made to hold a shutter open (“dog” being an Old English term for fastener)

and it appears that the cobbler's form is much older than that

near black

19th Century Iroquois Beaded Silk and Linen Frame with Pair of Squirrels (tintype not included) Russian stockinette doll I believe it is safeIt is the two squirrels with black eyes and bushy tails facing each other at the top corners of this antique beaded frame that completely sold me on it uncommon and just wonderful. And while I don't always love Iroquois Mohawk beadwork made for the tourist market around Niagara Falls, this is I think a very fine and lovely and relatively early example (c. 1860s 80s I believe) and frames are pretty rare to find. Just right, and just the right size for