Evocative Handmade EMPIRE Stencil carved Mexican mask The box I believe dates

The box I believe dates to the late 19th/very early 20th century or so

and I presume the form to the the left of her fabulous boot is an ink bottle

minor paint loss and a little uneveness to the blade edge near the tip

with which he seems to have been in some way associated

Evocative Handmade EMPIRE Stencil carved Mexican mask The box I believe datesI love stencils of all sorts, but this may be my very favorite I've found. It was clearly hand drawn and hand cut, with the pencil drawn guides for the wonderfully boxy and also a bit Metropolis futuristic feeling lettering still very much evident. Often one sees stencils for types of apples, used for labeling crates or barrels which may be the case here, for Empire apples. But it also, especially for being silver, it makes me think of The Empire