Safe still bank c. early to mid 20th century

This "Safe still bank" was made anonymously, with no date specified, and it's now at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It’s diminutive, a safe made small. The artist, in their own way, was playing with ideas of security and value. What strikes me is the color palette: muted, metallic tones, but with hints of copper peeking through. It's like the artist was building up layers of history, of use and wear, into the object itself. See how the surface is subtly textured, almost like it's been aged deliberately. I wonder about the original state of the object before the patina was added. There is something inherently poetic about taking the notion of security, so linked to money and power, and rendering it in miniature form. It suggests a kind of intimacy, as if the artist is inviting us to consider what ‘safe’ really means. Consider the work of Joseph Cornell, with his shadow boxes made of found objects – there’s a similar sense of reverie and introspection. Art, after all, is about making us think, feel, and question, all at once.