Woodcarvings bought at an auction???

[chipper67]

Hi,

Yesterday I attended an auction here in Yankton, SD. There was a box of woodcarvings and I bid on it and won the bid. All I was told about these carvings is that they had been packed away for about 20 years and that the owner had bought most of them in California a long time ago. I was just wondering if by any chance anyone on this board may know or recognize any of these carvings. The farmer with pig is what really caught my eye. I cannot make out what the marking is on the bottom of it. When I got home and studied it a bit further I am not totally sure if it is wood. It sure looks like it is, but I just cannot tell. Maybe these carvings are not worth much but even if not I sure like them and I guess that is what really counts. I took some pictures of them and put them out on my picturetrail site under the heading of "Purchased Carvings". I would appreciate any thoughts or comments.

[wade clark]

nice collection from around the world! The man with the pig is probably Italian, possibly Anri, many of these Anri are usually on ebay, some bring good prices. I think Anri was either a village with a woodcarving school/factory/industry for export, maybe 1920's to maybe 1980's maybe even today, not sure. Great carvers and carvings from it though!
Lots of elephant carvings come from India. The mouse is a nice one...it could also be a tapir, a South American rodent that grows to several hundred pounds.
Most of them, in my humble opinion as an Auctioneer and having sold similar pieces, are probably worth $5 to $15 each. The Anri could be worth $20 to $100 or more...do a little research on it, maybe on ebay. And it MAY not be an Anri, but it sure looks like one to me! I love them! Most of them had stickers saying something like, "ANRI Made in Italy", and the stickers often fell off or were removed.
The African Fellow, with the date, could be worth a bit. He's a typical carving but the date helps.
Of course, everything is only worth what you can get for it! Unless you like it so much that it's not for sale!
Enjoy them! I think the Anri is the best one.
Wade

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

not being any kind of expert, it looks like a collection of other country carvings...I see a Don Quixote, a couple that look african, a mexican ironwood carving, one that looks oriental...the interesting two are the little padre and the man with the pig, they both should be worth investigating, but again, I don't know anything about collections

[wade clark]

I'd bet money that the farmer is wood.. Some Anri's are hard to tell, but I've never seen one resin cast or anything like that.
Wade

[Old_Gord]

I think you answered part of your own question, if you like them , that's all that matters, and if some are not wood , so what, they are still liked by you.
Other than it looks like you have a "Man From Lamancha" (Don Q), now how did that refrain go, "To dream the Impossible dream" ?Smile
The guy with the pig would have caught my eye as well.
That's about all I can suggest.Smile
So enjoy your purchase.

Cheers

OG

[Irish]

The way they are marked on the base, especially the two with the hand written notes ... I am wondering if they may be just a touch more than "carvings from other countries" but instead be a collection of carvings from "countries the collector visited". Many people collect particular favorite items from places they go, like tee-shirts with the cities name of them or coffee cups that have a logo.

My Dad used to collect salt and pepper shakers?!? It didn't matter what they were - plastic, metal, ceramic - or what shape or theme they were - people, animals, classic shapes. He just liked salt and pepper shakers so treated himself to a new set with each trip.

Susan

[Ashbys]

Nice find!
I know little about carvings , but anything made in Africa in 1928 should be rare, especially in the US.
If the one is Anri as Wade suggested , it could be very valuable to a collector. Anri is still very much in business.
http://www.anri.com/
A very nice site and very informative.

The box itself is impressive.

And honestly , if you were happy with what you paid, and know how much you were willing to spend , then value has been set =)

Great find ,
Ash

[mdallensr]

I've seen the bird of prey before, in Mexico.

[rick-in-seattle]

Chipper,
Nice set of carvings!

The man holding a pig, I believe to be from Austria, although it could be ANRI since there were and still are a large number of ANRI carvers working at different levels.

The Friar is delightful, easily a collectable.

The budda will bring you luck if you rub his head each day until it shines.

My personal favorite is the Japanese Turtle, I have a small collection of this style carving; several bears of different sizes and one large Frog.