Antique Frames for Christmas

  
   There always seems to be a theme for me every Christmas when giving gifts to my son and daughter.  This year it was antique picture frames.   I have a "thing" about them and buy several every month.  With all the wall space at The Willow Tree, I know it will never be a problem trying to figure out how to use them, and my daughter is always happy with a unique frame for a gift. 

  
   This is a tramp art frame referred to by collectors as "Crown of Thorns" because of the construction of handcarved tiny individual interlocking pieces of wood no bigger than matchsticks, each coming to a point and then put together kind of like Lincoln Logs.  As you can imagine, Crown of Thorn pieces are very fragile.  This frame is two and a-half feet long and is really a show-stopper when displayed on any wall.

   Another large tramp art frame with large chunky notch construction.   When putting personal photos in antique frames, I always try to finish off the back so that the photos can be easily taken out and updated with new ones.

   Ca. 1850 European bird's-eye maple frame with oil painting.   I bought this because I absolutely love bird's-eye and tiger maple used in any antique.  The lovely little oil is a bonus.  

   Sure a one-of-a-kind piece, this frame is entirely handcarved.   What makes it unique, of course, is the lovely large bow on top making the frame appear as one large gift box.  It is even stained in red and green, perfect for family Christmas photos.  Almost two feet wide, it also a nice size.

   Closeup shows detail of large carved ribbon stained red set atop the frame.   Carved green leaves run around the four sides, and every so often more of the "red ribbon" carving crisscrosses the green leaves looking as if the ribbon from the large bow is wrapping the entire frame.   This is one of my all-time favorites!