Black and Gold Lacquer Antique Chinoiserie String Holder Box cat with button eyes It is in very good

It is in very good condition and I have not attempted to polish it

And then there is the great shape

Presumed mid-century and signed on the bottom

but this is quite an unusual one and one of my very favorites

with a few scratches to the finish at the base of the handle and a couple of black spots on the wood

Black and Gold Lacquer Antique Chinoiserie String Holder Box cat with button eyes It is in very goodI've found a very close match of this lovely small lacquer string holder that describes it (with some authority) as English Victorian era Chinoiserie, late 19th or very early 20th century. Made of lacquered papier mache, it features wonderful gold toned decoration, different on all sides, depicting figures engaged in a variety of scenes, including one figure smoking from a pipe, another holding a fan, another reading, and another who appears to be