1899 Spruce Gum Box "Spirit of Nova Scotia"

Canadian. A spruce gum box from Wileville, Nova Scotia, chip-carved and marked, "Gum Book, Mar 1, 1899" in red wax inlay on one side. A Celtic knot motif is incised on the spine and also framed with chip carving on the other side in red wax inlay. Carved and hollowed out from a solid block of softwood, with a wooden "clasp" carved on the side. Retains the original top and bottom slides. Illustrated in "Spirit of Nova Scotia: Traditional decorative folk art, 1780-1930" by Richard Henning Field, plate 201. Almost identical to lot 129, which has the same motifs but is dated Mar 4, 1899. Marked, "Gum Book Mar 1 1899".

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