Floral Papier-Mâché Box

Formed around a simple wooden frame, this papier-mâché storage box is a charming example of Chinese folk art. Crafted with old newspapers and dyed rice paper, the box would have been used in a provincial home to store clothing, hats and other personal items.

The exterior is patterned with a quiet floral design of grey peonies against a creme-white field, suggestive of traditional paper-cuts, and the interior is lined with pages from a student's workbook, dotted with cartoonish graphics and marked with homework answers drawn in pen. Today, the vintage box is ideal as a decorative vessel or a storied way to store household clutter.