Enigmatic Carved Folk Art Bust cow vertabrae who must at some point

who must at some point have been commemorated with their own deck of cards

held together with these gorgeous

features seated Buddhist figures

complete with pin cushion on the underside of the lid

Enigmatic Carved Folk Art Bust cow vertabrae who must at some pointEvery time I look at this carving, I see it differently sometimes thinking it is a woman represented and sometimes a man; sometimes thinking African American and sometimes thinking it feels a bit Germanic or even Dutch. My best guess is it is a portrait of a black woman, and that the carving is American, but I don't know for sure. In any case, I really like how expressionistic it feels in addition to its elusiveness, which is amplified by the darkness