Antique Black Lacquer Shoe Shaped Snuff Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay mechanical sculpture These Japanese hand-carved cedar (Cryptomeria)

These Japanese hand-carved cedar (Cryptomeria) horny toads are pretty amazing for the manner in which their carved forms brilliantly correspond to the patterns of the  wood grain

I believe the figures are carved of wood and glued inside

I have seen very similar described as Roseville

I have a sense that this bowl is a pretty special piece

Antique Black Lacquer Shoe Shaped Snuff Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay mechanical sculpture These Japanese hand-carved cedar (Cryptomeria)This lovely little lacquered papier mache snuff box, with mother of pearl inlay at the center of the lid and for the buttons of the shoe, and a hinged lid, dates to the second half of the 19th century and I believe is most likely British, though possibly French. It's seen some use for sure most curiously, the sole is worn in just the way a real shoe would be, as if it has been walking around for the past 150 years or so! It still opens and closes with