Rare Plains Native American Elaborately Beaded Hide Ball (2 7/8' Inch) cast iron gate weight 1920s box to find it

1920s box to find it almost completely full of "Sterling" white chalk

4 1/2" diameter and 4 1/4" tall with lid and in excellent condition

The curled piece attached by rivet to the bottom left of the hanging rack is a tiny bit loose

with the lovely butterfly perfectly balancing the composition

Rare Plains Native American Elaborately Beaded Hide Ball (2 7/8' Inch) cast iron gate weight 1920s box to find itI purchased this beautifully beaded ball at an antique show in Maine, from a dealer who told me he had held onto it for a lot of years, but didn't know anything about it. I'd never seen another like it, but assumed it was Native American, and found (find) it quite exquisite (and also reminding me of the fancy antique Pennsylvania folk art yarn balls I have been coveting of late). It took no time to find a handful of other examples like it (a couple of