This ornate little antique cotton barrel is hand carved of bone and has a nice old patina. The sides have birds and a butterfly carved on a background of clouds and a sunflower design is on the top. The thread was wound around the spindle inside and there is a hole in the side to feed the thread through. It would have been part of an English workbox imported from China in the early 19th century.

The condition is excellent with no chips, cracks or other damage and the top screws on well. Everything looks to be original and it measures 1 1/4" high. Some like this are shown on p. 160 of Gay Ann Rogers' book An Illustrated History of Needlework Tools.