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Treasures

Rabbit in the Moon Box

This work was exhibited in the Village Room during the Deerfield's Old Home Days in 1901. According to an article in the PVMA Proceedings,

"The most original example of Mrs. Wynne's work is a small box, dull blue and green and bronze in color, bearing on its lid an inset ornament of silver, the design being a rabbit, in the moon, surrounded by flowers, set with moonstones; the corner pieces of the box are oxidized metal, set with dull green pebbles. On the inside of the lid the legend which the device illustrates is carved."¹

This photograph was reproduced in Wynne's article, "The Influence of Arts & Crafts," published in Good Housekeeping in October of 1903. The image caption suggests Wynne's inspiration: "Jewel box cover of inlaid silver with moonstones, illustrating the legend of the hare in the moon."² The legend of the moon rabbit can be found in many, particularly East Asian, cultures.

1. "Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts in the Martha Pratt Memorial," History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, 1899-1904(Deerfield, MA), 1905, 275.
2. Madeline Yale Wynne, "The Influence of Arts & Crafts," Good Housekeeping October, 1903.

Date:

c. 1901

Creator:

Madeline Yale Wynne

Dimensions:

H. 8.25" x W. 6.375"