Art Nouveau Brass Perpetual Calendar with Handwritten Inserts leather. and I think it is

and I think it is the degree to which they take themselves seriously as portraits that I find so appealing

but became famous--and more complicated--when an extraordinary series of boxes with the motif were commissioned in 1760 by or for the Qianlong emperor

Around this time

which made a range of different lettering instruments and sets

A curious little thing good for holding other little finds

Art Nouveau Brass Perpetual Calendar with Handwritten Inserts leather. and I think it isHow much nicer to reference this sweet old perpetual calendar with lovingly hand written inserts than to check the calendar on one's phone? The brass quintessentially art nouveau frame reads Tempus Fugit (time flies) at the bottom center and sits nicely on a desk, and the hand written two sided cards accounting for every month and possibility for how the dates fall are easily removed, swapped out, and reinserted, allowing one to stay on top of things