Big Chunky Carved Whimsy with Links an Ball in Cage colorful The polar bear stands less

The polar bear stands less than an inch tall

with what I believe are horsehair bristles running both horizontally

but I think it's pretty great

I believe this very charming antique hand-colored lithograph dates to the 1840s or so

Big Chunky Carved Whimsy with Links an Ball in Cage colorful The polar bear stands lessThis carved whimsy is quite the opposite of refined, which is much of what I love about it, plus the fact that both end pieces can be stood up, with the two links crossed above them, making it perfect for sitting like a sculpture on a shelf. It's big and chunky 16 1 4" inches long when stretched out and 1 5 8 inches wide and deep and the ball makes a nice rattle in its cage when shaken! It would be good hung on the wall by one of the links, too.