Box in book form. Christmas gift. Myra

Spruce-gum style box resembling a rounded-spine binding. The inserted bottom panel is fixed, while the box opens at the top through a wooden slide with finger hold. On the interior surface of the slide is inscribed in ink: DECEMBER / 25, 1908. The decorative covers were made in sections and applied to the solid-wood case. The four lighter fields are executed in marquetry technique, with the use of a jeweler's saw and various species of veneer. The central panel of the front cover contains the name MYRA, flanked by an upper and lower panel with two five-pointed stars each. The single field on the back cover contains a complex design of two overlaying five-pointed stars. All star-motifs have a small dot in their centers, possible due to the use of a compass in laying out the designs. The four decorative fields are framed with bands of mahogany veneer; the spine is left undecorated. -- description by Mindell Dubansky in consultation with Marijn Manuels