Ships, Folk Art, and Whimsey in Bottles

This wonderful whimsy was found at an estate sale in Florida. It contains two exceptionally carved Nuthatches made from several sections of wood and painted in lifelike colors true to those of the actual bird. The scene itself is just delightful and shows two birds on and around a large toadstool in nature. One bird is standing on top of the large toadstool and the other is on the ground under the toadstool. The birds are made from at least nine carved sections of wood. The bird's legs are very realistic and made from pieces of wire in the right shape and color to look real. The top of the toadstool is made from nine separate sections of carved wood, and the stem from three sections. It is painted in a soft pastel cream color. The underside of the toadstool is realistically carved to show the gills of a real one. The base is carved from what looks to be 23 separate sections. It is rounded on the top and painted green. The sculpture is approximately 9" tall. The bottle is sealed with a wooden stopper that has a wooden crosspiece making it impossible to remove the stopper from the bottle. On the outside is a large carved and rounded top. The bottle is a large one gallon wine bottle with a green tint to it and a wood carved stopper in the top. The bottle is unsigned and not dated which is a shame because the work is incredible and had to be made by a true craftsman who was capable of carving the birds and toadstool in such a way that they look real and insert them section by section through a very small opening.