Great Antique Gold and Black Gesso Over Wood Frame with Marvelous Reverse papier mach with the silk still held

with the silk still held very taut all the way around

Really quite an amazing object and portrait of an iconic place during its heyday

and are of a very high quality--measured by the number of layers of layers of fabric and quality of stitching

visions of a sugar cube and carrot eating

Great Antique Gold and Black Gesso Over Wood Frame with Marvelous Reverse papier mach with the silk still heldNot sure whether I like the front or back more on this one they are very different things! The face I love for the gold stripes against black patterning that looks very much like scales, making the whole thing feel like a snake curled into an oval to me. The reverse revealing its angle cut construction, rectangular recessed frame and black stencil painted 80 on one side reminds me of a cubist painting, including with the simple string strung across,