Wonderful Old Carved Balancing Man cloth book and attached to the rear

and attached to the rear of the boat by wire

Perhaps it was a gift to a shoemaker

especially after the Civil War

I found this painted wood sculpture of a seal or sea lion balancing a ball at the estate sale of an artist

Smallish face sized: 5 15/16" t x 4 7/8" wide

Wonderful Old Carved Balancing Man cloth book and attached to the rearI love this one so much, including for the fact that it feels pretty existential to me, with this carved, jointed figure suspended forever at the center of this long arching twig, weighted with chunks of wood at either end. I think perhaps the game is to find the exact position of the figure that will counterweight the wooden bits on the ends and allow him to balance in the air while they sit flush to the surface of a table, but really there are sorts