Charming 1889 Wire-Hinged Wooden Box with Hand-sewn, Embroidered Piecework Decoration original carving There is a super minor

There is a super minor split to the wood of the base at one far corner

with surface wear all to the good

19th century New England I believe

The stone is a greenish gray

it's got a lot of that embedded in the stories

Charming 1889 Wire-Hinged Wooden Box with Hand-sewn, Embroidered Piecework Decoration original carving There is a super minorHandwritten sideways in small, careful numbers on one interior wall of this box is the year 1889, almost like a secret. I think it's possible the wire hinged box itself is a little older than that, but would guess that's when the top of it was decorated with this silk and velvet and brocade piecework quilt of sorts, with embroidered stem of red flowers on dark blue wool at center. A few die cut decoupage elements on the slate gray painted sides, too,