Antique Folk Art Cigar Band Decoupage Bowl

Why we like it

A wonderfully eccentric piece of old tobacciana. 

This antique glass bowl has been completely transformed with an intricate collage of vintage cigar bands, tobacco labels and tiny printed portraits, all arranged beneath the glass in a richly layered radial pattern.

At the center is a beautifully dressed woman in lace and jewels, surrounded by a remarkable patchwork of old cigar graphics—crests, faces, brand names, gilt details and tiny bits of printed advertising. The result is almost kaleidoscopic, and every time you look at it you notice something different.

Pieces like this were often made as home craft projects by cigar smokers or their families, saving attractive bands and labels over time and turning them into decorative bowls, trays and other objects. Today they survive as wonderfully personal examples of folk art and early advertising history.

It would be terrific on a gentleman’s desk, bar cart, library table or simply displayed where all that wonderful detail can be appreciated.

Details

• Antique/vintage cigar-band folk art bowl
• Clear glass construction
• Hand-applied decoupage collage beneath the glass
• Decorated with numerous vintage cigar bands and tobacco labels
• Central female portrait
• Radial mosaic-style arrangement
• Dark green felt-covered reverse
• Handmade decorative object
• Maker unknown
• Likely late 19th to early 20th century
• Displays substantial age, patina, surface wear and discoloration consistent with its history
• One of a kind