Carving - Hungerford
I was in Hungerford at the weekend when this marvellous piece caught my eye. I peered through the window of the antique dealer William Cook. From outside the shop I couldn't quite discern what I was looking at, it looked like something dray that had been unearthed, bone perhaps ... I went in and was greeted by William who more than happy to show the piece in more detail even though it was pretty obvious that I wasn't in the market to buy, simply interested.
The piece, if I understood correctly, was carved from a single piece of wood by the artist William Kendall (though I haven't located any other information about the artist, I wonder if I made a mistake with the name) and dates from the 19th century.
The detail and workmanship are truly outstanding, details on feathers are visible and the ground surrounding the fighting sparrows is strewn with seeds individually raised from the wooden starting block.
William was kind enough to send me this studio photograph of the piece, but even this professional photograph doesn't really do the detail full justice. If you have any additional links, please let me know.