Hand-forged Pick Axe Head lacquer stringholder hand-painted in black against cream

hand-painted in black against cream on this lovely 19th century Apothecary tin

and which is actually a brand-name American adaptation of the Native American board game Pachisi

1940s or early 50s

Glasur Keramik on the underside

and rocks well

Hand-forged Pick Axe Head lacquer stringholder hand-painted in black against creamSometimes when I am out hunting for things I find something that just feels good to carry around in my hand, and by the end of my stop if I've become pretty attached to it I won't let it go. This was the case with this hand forged piece, an old pick axe head I believe, which has both a great weight and hand feel to it, and to my eye more than passes the muster as an compelling sculptural object, looking a bit like a hand with one long finger pointing