Oak wood carvings (England, France or Holland), circa 1650
Wooden sculptures dating back to the first half of the 17th century, depicting, in all probability, idols or popular characters belonging to cultures that inhabited the ancient north-western Americas, or rather those territories that we know today better by the name of New England.
The two sculptures, both hand-carved in oak wood, highlight anthropological traits typical of those populations, as do the clothes with their particular decoration which allow us to establish with analyzed certainty that they are artefacts made in those regions and in that specific time period. The wood is very light, compact and hard due to its slow dehydration over the centuries.
References:
Oak Furniture the British tradition": a History of early furniture in the British Isles and New England by Chinnery Victor, Fig.3:469
Shakespeare Collection:
In The Taming of the Shrew Grumio mentions “a puppet or an aglet-baby” (1.2.77-78)
SBT 1996-43 Walnut wooden doll from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Collections