Huge Antique Sculptural Carved Whimsy with One Ball in Ornate Cage antique carved wood mask 19" in diameter

19" in diameter

At first I thought this lovely hand-painted postcard depicted a bunch of green olives still on the branch

woven and wrapped around the handles with what I believe is a waxed thread

) Photos provide the best description of the condition of each

a London-born artist who moved to the San Francisco area in the late 1800s

Huge Antique Sculptural Carved Whimsy with One Ball in Ornate Cage antique carved wood mask 19" in diameterThis giant whimsy feels more like a piece of architecture than a carving, an a bit of a gothic one at that. I just fell in love with its dramatic form and ornately carved details, with a great mix of horizontals and verticals and terrific five point stars at the cornice, where the columns meet the anglular roof. I also find it both excellent and amusing that all of this skill and labor was applied to creating a whimsy that houses just one smallish