Antique Architectural Ornament Mold: Leaf signed Inuit sculpture or as a gift to

or as a gift to a dear daughter on the anniversary of her arrival in the world

meaning made using only a knife--and if there were ever an object that would seem to embody the act of whittling

so I am selling at a bargain price

I believe these date to the Civil War era

with a bit of darkening to the boxwood (which is buttery smooth and just gorgeous) of the exterior

Antique Architectural Ornament Mold: Leaf signed Inuit sculpture or as a gift toI see a lot of old wooden industrial molds but only occasionally do I across across ones like this, filled with a pitch wood resin mold material, and used for casting ornaments for architecture, molding and picture frames. This is the smallest of several I'm listing, which photographs don't quite do justice (I've shot it a couple of different light situations to try to give a sense) the mold itself has a really visceral presence, feeling like a cross