Swarming Gulls Over Moody Sea Old Oil Painting on Wood Panel handmade old puppet elevating a game of checkers

elevating a game of checkers to a serious (but joyful) pastime

though I am confident they are indeed Villeroy & Boch

And the intricate form of a shrimp I think makes for a pretty great subject to showcase the skills of a carver

I love these old school slates

One tiny split in the wood on one side at the tip of the handle

Swarming Gulls Over Moody Sea Old Oil Painting on Wood Panel handmade old puppet elevating a game of checkersAnother Maine find, and it seems likely that's where it originated, but it is unsigned and I don't know for sure. Late 19th or 20th century I would guess, and done on a thick wood panel, which has bowed just a little over the years, no matter, just adding a little to its nice sense of object hood. I really love how both intense and graceful the birds appear, with their fine black outlines setting them off against the seascape as if in their own world