Man of the Wood, Great Old Dramatically Encircled Carved Burl Face victorian croquet posts 12 fillings and 1 bones

12 fillings and 1 bones card

Closer inspection reveals waving flags and tiny firing cannons (with very nice tiny puffs of smoke) positioned along the wall of a fortress the toward the bottom of the engraving

and I have to wonder if she didn't make it in the fall

following the others done likely by an older sibling

Man of the Wood, Great Old Dramatically Encircled Carved Burl Face victorian croquet posts 12 fillings and 1 bonesI presume this is an American folk art piece (making me think a bit of the work of Moses Ogden), though it also possesses a certain elegance that feels Native American, and the carving of the face reminds me a lot of Inuit carved stone heads. (I purchased it in Western Mass. from a dealer who sells a good deal of both Inuit and Native American pieces, but have no further information on it.) In any case, very expressive and wonderfully done, and with