Amazing Antique Hitched Horsehair Quirt, C. Late 19th/Early 20th Century american studio pottery depicting faces with stylized features

depicting faces with stylized features and often quite dramatic expressions

7 5/8" t x 4 3/4" w x 4 5/16" d

with wood backing and wired for hanging

with very minimal cracking to the lacquer--mostly just the interior of one of the two trays

early-ish 20th c I would guess

Amazing Antique Hitched Horsehair Quirt, C. Late 19th/Early 20th Century american studio pottery depicting faces with stylized featuresI'm quite obsessed with this. I wasn't sure exactly what it was when I found it, but knew it was quite an exquisitely made thing, made entirely of dyed and very finely knotted horsehair, creating glorious patterns, with a leather strip threaded through leather loop at the end. Incredible. With a little research I've learned a bit about the world of quirts: short whips associated with the Southwestern US, used to urge a horse to greater speed, but