SOLD Woman in Chair with Heart in Hand, Presumed c. 17th Century Weaving Tool Japanese modern with his head covering coming

with his head covering  coming off to reveal his face

Little green one is 1 1/16" x 1 3/16"

but it immediately crumbled in my hands as soon as I touched it--not too surprising as I'd think this is well over a hundred years old

including one that makes this feel very timely for the moment:  it is suggested that he was a symbol of hope to the people of Hamelin

SOLD Woman in Chair with Heart in Hand, Presumed c. 17th Century Weaving Tool Japanese modern with his head covering comingThis is the find this week that excited excites! me most what a marvelous carving! It also remains a bit of a mystery. My guess is that it was made as a weaving tool, with the lower half seeming likely meant for winding yarn or thread around, and it clearly shows a great deal of handling, the the wood smoothed and softened around the edges over many many years. It also seems that the back of her "chair" doubled as a sort of loop, either for threading