Great and weird carving of a seal's body with a man's head in a typical whimsey "ball in box". The carving also has some symbols on all 4 sides of the base. This recently sold for $ 430.00 on eBay.
Here's the seller's description: 1920's Wood Carved Whimsey. Carved out of one piece of wood. Very Unusual! A seal's body with a head in a box sits on top of a pedestal. The head in the box can turn 360 degrees so he can look out each opening. The pedestal has an eye behind a curtain carved on one side, a four leaf clover and and Indian symbol that I believe stands for friendship. I'm sure all of these symbols mean something! Found in New York State. It is signed twice on the bottom, R H R. Once in red paint and it is also carved in. I think the wood is spruce. It measures 10 3/4" tall and the base is 3 1/2" square.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
1920's "Seal" Whimsey with Symbols
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3 comments:
Great! Folk Art is the craftsmanship of people from a local area which depicts the everyday life. the 1920's wood carved whimsy looks good and the box has a opening from every corner. Thanks for giving such an interesting information on folk art.
Thanks for checking it out Sammy! I have this personal obsession with folk art and all things with great visual appeal. There's nothing better than sharing these things with people that have the same interest.
Keep checking in!
Take care,
Joey.
I watched this auction on E-bay. This has nothing to do with folk art. The symbols on the bottom are not rhr, they are possible runic. The cross like symbol is called a "WAN", a religious symbol of India, also used as a marker on Japanese maps for the location of a temple. This piece came from overseas I would bet and is very, very, old.
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