Polly Este's Rewards of Merit, Southborough, MA, 1827! japanese ikebana vase dense on the front and

dense on the front and sparser on the reverse

in an ugly newer frame

and smooth

whoever he is

I'd guess it dates to the late 19th or early 20th but am not entirely certain

Polly Este's Rewards of Merit, Southborough, MA, 1827! japanese ikebana vase dense on the front andIt's a rare day that I come across a reward of merit or three as early as these, and even less frequently do I come across an entirely handmade one. Clearly Polly Este, or someone who loved her, was proud of her accomplishments, managing to keep these safe and sound and together for just about 200 years. I have a definitive record for Polly, born Aug. 30, 1818 in Southborough, Massachusetts, daughter of Solomon Este. She married Henry Sumner Wheeler