Folk art is a genre of art that shares the creator’s traditions, offering not just an artistic display but an opportunity to learn about a culture. Antique, new and vintage folk art typically reflects a heritage or location. It can include utilitarian objects and handmade art as diverse as weather vanes, duck decoys, portraiture and paintings, carnival art and quilts.

Quilts are a quintessential part of American folk art but their roots are international, with quilting dating back to Ancient Egypt. The practice spread to Europe and was especially prominent in the Middle Ages, with one of the oldest surviving examples being the Tristan quilt made in Sicily in the 14th century. They were made as bedcovers and clothing, including as a layer for knights to wear beneath their armor. Native American folk art includes functional objects reflecting their heritage, such as baskets, textiles and wooden pieces.

Elsewhere, the vast range of work associated with Mexican folk art includes masks made by Mexican craftspeople for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater.

Works in the folk art tradition are valuable because of the skills involved, like weaving, hand-carving wood and even stonework. Many folk artists are self-taught, while some train as apprentices within their community. By using available materials and taking a personal approach to their creations, artists ensure each piece is unique and conveys a story.

During the Great Depression, artistic materials in America were hard to come by, so artisans used discarded wood from cigar boxes and shipping crates to make highly stylized, notched pieces — most often picture frames and boxes — that are today sought after by collectors. This folk art style is called tramp art and was popular from roughly 1870 until the 1940s.

Folk art brings vibrant culture and traditions into your home. Browse an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage folk art on 1stDibs.

Finding the Right tobacco-accessories for You

Antique, new and vintage tobacco accessories are not typically works of art, but, even if you’ve kicked the habit, an ornate mid-century modern ashtray, bronze cigar cutter or Art Deco cigarette case — collector’s items, all — will prove to be a unique accent piece for your bar cart, coffee table or mantel.

Cigar connoisseurs know the value of a good cigar box or humidor. Humidors safely store cigars at the right temperature so they don’t retain moisture and deteriorate in quality. Depending on the size and type of cigar, a cigar cutter is also an important accessory for the consummate cigar smoker. There are guillotine cutters, cigar scissors, V-cutters and punch cutters. These tools are useful, but, as part of a 19th-century upgrade for your contemporary desk, antique tobacco accessories are also a fun way to integrate personal expression into your workday. A sleek vintage cigarette case or lighter can introduce some pizzazz to the shelves of your home library or any other surface where you display your collectibles.

While ashtrays might not immediately strike you as interesting and provocative objects that deserve to be part of your decor, these accessories have taken on all manner of forms and styles over the years. Old glass ashtrays, which are quite popular and easily found in free-form, organic shapes, can be a purely decorative final touch when styling a coffee table. Visionary designers such as Isamu Noguchi — one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century — popularized the idea of tobacco accessories as art with projects such as his decorative ashtrays.

Discover an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage tobacco accessories for your home today on 1stDibs.