Sweet tiny little folk art shellwork box made from papiermache -with damage as shown
Shellwork souvenirs were produced in the late Victorian/early Edwardian period and purchased as mementoes from holidays to coastal towns and seaside spots. The name originally came from the shell decorated pieces that sailors would bring home to their loved ones from Barbados. The myth was that the sailors made these themselves of an evening as they pined for their loved ones ... But in reality there was an enterprising cottage industry knocking them out and the salty seamen would purchase them at a gift store before heading home.
Some losses as shown
Size: 8cm x 4.5cm