Curious Antique Hand-carved "Antes" Box vintage landscape drawing At the center

At the center

with tightly packed rows of animals

6 1/4" wide at widest spread

Such a pretty bowl

Curious Antique Hand-carved "Antes" Box vintage landscape drawing At the centerI have to think, with "antes" printed across the edge of one side, that this sweet hand carved box was made to carry a coin or game chip or two in order to be perpetually ready for a card match. It's certainly quite old, held together with hand forged nails, and with a slide opening on one end and an inset piece at the bottom. I believe the "antes" is branded burned into the surface of the wood, but it is a bit hard to tell. In any event, certainly a