Tole Tray

I found this great tole tray a couple weeks ago at Duck Creek Antique Mall.  I have been totally addicted to folk prints lately and this orange-red tray caught my eye.  I looked up exactly what a tole trays are and apparently they are typically metal trays that have been enameled and decoratively painted with a colorful design heavily influenced by folk art.  The practice of enameling and painting has been widely practiced in Asia for centuries, but tole trays seem to have emerged around the 18th century, primarily among Scandinavian immigrants in New England.

I decided to hang it on the porch and it makes me happy every time I look up at it.