French Olive Wood Souvenir Box from Epinal with Hand-painted Bird hair ornament Heavy and smooth

Heavy and smooth

With a little research I learned that these origami parasols were once a common craft among Japanese American women

There is some spotting on its base

This is a terrific hand-thrown studio pottery bowl glazed with a grayish cream slip and decorated with wonderful large roundish dark blue spots

Each candleholder is stamped “SUDA” on the underside edge

French Olive Wood Souvenir Box from Epinal with Hand-painted Bird hair ornament Heavy and smoothI've found a few other old French hand painted souvenir boxes, but none anywhere close to as lovely as this one, made of beautiful olive wood, and with this charming bird on wispy branch painted on the lid, a red headed swallow I think? In the corner, in perfect cursive, is painted Epinal, a city in Northeastern France. The proportions of the box are terrific too, with these great rounded corners, plus a key hole on the front though there is no longer