Handmade Hand Puppet with Painted Wood Face clubhouse drawing with a second green-faced portrait

with a second green-faced portrait inside

it is protected by a wonderfully worn leather cover

and various leaf and flower forms

The loom itself was made expressly to perform its function: two of the pieces of wood were notched to allow the other two to lock squarely on top of them

I have done a fair amount of research

Handmade Hand Puppet with Painted Wood Face clubhouse drawing with a second green-faced portraitI don't know anything about the history of this old hand puppet, which I found at an antique shop in Maine and just could not leave behind such humanity in this deeply carved and painted wooden face, with chunky screwed on nose and big drippy red mouth! And then this curly wool hair or maybe meant to be a cap, as there is another layer of brown hair peeking out at the back of his neck. He's had a life for sure, with holes now in his grey knitted wool