Enigmatic Carved Folk Art Bust tabletop frames and certainly this Eric or

and certainly this Eric or Earl or some other beau looks quite the little rascal

with the gold bordered "handshake" pin at top and "all seeing eye" at center

Early 20th century I believe and rendered in soft grays and browns

and “Precious and Other Stones Used in Jewelry”

String binding is very tight

Enigmatic Carved Folk Art Bust tabletop frames and certainly this Eric orEvery 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