turkish prison purses and bowling
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FIND OF THE WEEK
This rose carving used to live on the side of a building over one hundred years ago. It is now perfectly weathered, still vibrantly colored, and no longer hanging on the side of a piece of architecture so we can enjoy it here.
The good people at Folk Art and Antiques based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania always bring the most whimsical and unusual antique and folk art pieces that continue to amaze me. And this beautiful rose carving is no different.
In the time I put this in this newsletter to hitting send, this piece has been sold. Better luck to us all next time!
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B-B-BONUS
I was first introduced to the concept of Turkish prison purses by a friend on Instagram. His father was from Greece and amassed a very large and impressive collection of American and Greek folk art. Somehow, someway, back in the 60s someone in a Greece prison created a JFK beaded purse, and his father had it.
The above purse, currently in the collection of the Museum of International Folk Art, goes “hard af” according to someone on Threads. So that’s a good thing! And anytime a piece of folk art makes my former teacher and excellent anti-authoritarian folk art historian Isa Segalovich say “Woahh” — you know you’re on to something special.
These are beautiful, full of fascinating tradition dating back over one hundred years ago and are readily available for purchase if that is something you are into. Here, let me show you…
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