Doosje bij draagteken, 1910 c. 1910

This little box was made around 1910 by an anonymous maker. It’s a ‘Doosje bij draagteken’, or box for insignia, and it’s pretty small, just a few inches long. I love thinking about the hands that made this, carefully inking the lettering, maybe using a stencil, definitely paying attention to detail. What was their life like? Were they thinking about the insignias, medals, and ribbons that would eventually fill the box? It’s a pretty sweet thought to be the one in charge of the little thing that holds the big important thing. It's amazing how much history can be packed into something so tiny. An object like this connects us to the past and to the anonymous maker of the box through this little treasure. Their touch, their thoughts, are all somehow still present in this object. And maybe that’s what all artists hope for, to leave a little piece of themselves behind, something that will continue to speak long after they’re gone.