Beautiful Antique Carved Heart Shaped Box, Ex. "Smitty" Axtell Collection small bowls Wonderfully aged condition and structurally

Wonderfully aged condition and structurally sound

with wear to the surface of the cardboard sleeve as pictured

and to my eye beautifully merges a mid-century elegance with a more folky sensibility

Both are in good

leaves and roots

Beautiful Antique Carved Heart Shaped Box, Ex. "Smitty" Axtell Collection small bowls Wonderfully aged condition and structurallyI know this beautiful little carved box came from the collection of Richard Smitty Axtell (Skinner recently held an auction of many pieces from his collection in "Smitty's Eye: The Axtell Collection") of Deposit, New York, whose collection focused on American antiques especially burl and other woodenware. This looks like burl to me, and beautifully carved, with bat wing like points to the heart on the exterior, but then a rounded heart carved out