Wonderful Old Carved Balancing Man cloth book I found this painted wood

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

and sharing of woes

all directed toward the book resting on her knees

and the jointed pair measure 4 1/2" across

Wonderful Old Carved Balancing Man cloth book I found this painted woodI 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