Swimming Turtle on wood box with Drum sides: BurntWork, -JC Polchies, Mi'kmaq

Description

All 4 sides of this box have a design that make it look like the sides of a laced rawhide & wood Native American drum.  A turtle with a 4 directions design on it's shell is on the top of the lid.  The turtle and the "drum sides" are
burnt work designs that
by J Clifton Polchies, Mi'kmaq. (Micmac, USA spelling Mi'kmaq; Canadian spelling) has "burnt" onto the front and sides of this commercially made box.
There may be 2 more similar turtle boxes/drum sides in this ebay store. (unless 1 or both have sold before this one)   Each is different - one box is not as wide as this one and has a turtle with "dots" on it's shell... one is a much larger box and has a turtle with a solid shell.
The "drum sided" boxes by Clifton are beautiful and time consuming to do -  Interesting idea.
This box by Clifton's is a rectangle. it is 5.75" long, 4.5" across and 2.5" high.  This box has the drum sides, something Clifton's father, Clarence used to do.  This can hold a variety of items. Some of my Mi'kmaq friends use similar boxes by Clifton to hold their sage, cedar, sweetgrass etc for ceremonies.  Also makes a great jewelry box or a desk top box to hold stamps, pens etc.
Burnt work is also called  pyrography - dictionary definition
"Pyrography is the art of decorating wood or other materials with
burn
marks"
As a traditional art of the Wabanaki, burnt work has been used for at nearly 2 centuries and perhaps even prior to European contact...  The earliest burnt work design I have seen was on a paddle was dated to 1850 and have been told of others that were even earlier.  Wooden objects as well as birch bark items were sometimes decorated using the tips of burning sticks etc.
This commercially purchased wooden box has had the all the burnt work designs placed on it by the Mi'kmaq artist, J Clifton Polches.
It would make a great desk top box for holding scissors, pens/pencils, stamps, paper clips, push pins, erasers etc... or a wonderful jewelry/trinket box.  Called a "sage box" by some of my Mi'kmaq (USA spelling, MicMac) friends who use Clifton's boxes to store medicinal herbs for teas, or tobacco for smoking in traditional pipes - as well as feathers and cedar, sweetgrass and sage for smudging.  -  You can store spiritually or emotionally significant items in this too.   Or... use as a jewelry box, a desk box for items such as stamps, paper clips, pens, pencils etc...  Or..  whatever you choose.