ON HOLD Wonderful Late 19th C. Shenandoah Valley Folk Art Birdcage stony weed vase The hinge of the lid

The hinge of the lid is quite sturdy and it opens and closes with ease

with a matching pepper shaker

This hip flask is very old

I have done some searching and the only Merkesell I have found is an Emily Merkesell of   Cass

about 150-170 years ago Kuna women of Panama began making Molas using the reverse appliqué technique

ON HOLD Wonderful Late 19th C. Shenandoah Valley Folk Art Birdcage stony weed vase The hinge of the lidThis birdcage is my favorite find of the week, to my eye really a wonderful thing, which I know from the seller came out of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, c. 1880s 1900. The hand of the maker is viscerally palpable everywhere, and especially in the hand carved, purely decorative pieces around the top, four arches each, and four more arches over the front door, which slides smoothly up to let a bird in or out. The entire structure hooks to the base