Colorful Wooden Abacus with Nice Old Paint serving piece sewn to a cloth torso

sewn to a cloth torso which seems to be stuffed with sawdust

11 1/4" l x 7 5/8" t x 3/16" d

with the figurative design executed in thicker threads

The vase features a celadon body decorated with a blue tree that branches beautifully around its perimeter and is punctuated with white moriage blossoms

and an image I think I'd never tire of looking at and thinking about

Colorful Wooden Abacus with Nice Old Paint serving piece sewn to a cloth torsoThough I realize there are not many abacus users these days, I really love them as objects and occasionally I come across one I can't resist, like this one. I'm not sure the maker but surely 1950s 60s or so, with great color, great form, and great aging to the paint. This one was certainly made as a teaching toy for children, but it could be coopted to serve as a weekly or monthly tallying device for all sorts of things (i. e. green equals good deeds