Wooden decoy - home decor or old?

Picked up today with a bunch of stuff at a yard sale. I like it for the décor value, but wondered if it was one that was used. Thinking probably not.

 

It appears to be a little mallardjusted

 

That's an actual old worker. Minimal value unless you can attribute it. There may be a clue in its construction.

 

I'm glad Terry knows for sure... my ol' man collects a few, and it certainly has the look.

It's sweet, not MALLARDJUSTED at all!

 

Is that small metal loop on the bottom where they'd attach a weight to hold it in place?

Some famous decoy carvers lived on Cape Cod. The guy who owned this was a local artist, but he was a watercolorist, not a carver. I'll try and find out if his estate knows where he got it.

 

That row of staples was for a keel/weight. The cord may have gone on that.

 

Too bad he's missing his eyes. When you said it was old, I started researching. They seem to be worth more with the eyes and weights intact. Still, it wasn't a bad $10 purchase.

 

The eyes were just 'tacks'.

 

Oh, that's why there are little metal pin like things. I thought they'd be glass.

 

I've been a patternmaker/foundry worker,consultant for the last 32 years - to me it looks like a crudely made pattern to be molded and cast in the foundry to become a cast iron duck door stop - the perforated metal was used to cover the eyelets that were used to pull the pattern out of the sand so the mold can be put together and then poured with the molten iron!
This is the perforated metal pattern we used most times - it actually is very small - not the way this picture makes it look huge~~

 

It is a decoy

 

And what is it going to draw in - WOOD DUCKS LOL!!! or maybe some Carpenter ants!!

 

Those are more like indentations. I think someone used some kind of meat tenderizer pointy thing to pound in the tacks on the bottom that held weights.

 

Well, maybe....seems to me the shape would not allow it to be sand-cast, at least not in one piece. I see the eyelets and traces of holes on the bottom as being more appropriate to rigging for a decoy.
But I'll defer to those more familiar with decoys, or sand-casting.

 

Heck with foundry castings - if anybody has the knitting pattern I'll take 2 of these - 2 cute!

 

When I was younger I worked at a small foundry and they had an old time Swedish molder who could cut a parting line around anything - plus looks like the head was actually not attached to the body - so 2 different castings "tigged" together

 

Reminds me of my quackers when they hatched from my incubator!! Glad I kept the pics!! Bought the eggs from Ebay and I never though they'd hatch:

First hatcher - tripped me out!!


And the TA DA - got juvie and loved my tub till I got them outside:

 

OH
MY
GAWWWD
!!!

Que preciosos!
I have watched canary eggs hatch, and... it's just the most breath-taking thing!
Thank you for that, el Rayo!

 

We raised chickens when I was growing up in NH. We also would get baby ducks to raise. My son is building a coop and we'll be getting chickens here soon. We already have goats. I never thought I'd go back to the farm. My husband's family raised sheep here back in the 40s-50s.

 

Hi,
Love the photos of the ducks. Growing up I always got three ducklings and five "peeps" for Easter. Loved them all. One of my ducks thought it was a dog. Every time I would sit down the dang duck would try and get on my lap. Every fall the chickens would be dispatched to be eaten. The ducks would go to the neighbor. I suppose to be eaten but I never wanted to know. I know it sounds horrible but growing up on a farm, I never thought about it but growing up I am now horrified about it. Duckings were so cute with that soft rubbery bill.
greg