Antique Carved Burl Wood Bird, Presumed Native American Woodlands, Ex. Axtell Collection brass key Crusty old white painted surfaces

Crusty old white painted surfaces

just inside

but there is a "3" carved on the underside of his tail

that one was housed in its original wooden crate

Antique Carved Burl Wood Bird, Presumed Native American Woodlands, Ex. Axtell Collection brass key Crusty old white painted surfacesA bit of a mystery, this bird, but such a beautiful thing, which came from the collection of "Smitty" Axtell, who was a great lover of carved treen objects. Carved of burl wood I believe, it feels to me Native American, bearing a strong resemblance to birds carved on effigy pipes and ladles, but I don't know for certain, and the reason for the holes carved down the back and up the belly is unknown, though it would seem likely it functioned as a tool