Hand Carved Wooden Goose

When I first walked in the rec center of the senior living facility, this goose screamed at me. I knew he was different from 20 feet away. I asked to see him immediately and told his owner that yes, I would give her the $30.00 she wanted for him.

He was exquisite in so many ways. First, he was real wood; so heavy that he had holes drilled underneath him to keep the weight down. Second, as a testament to his hand-carved nature, his head was removable. It could be taken off and moved in any of four positions, as the base of the head was carved in a square.

Here are the holes drilled in the bottom to remove some of the weight.

My mom and cohort in antique shopping thought I was crazy. She didn’t see his beauty. He did need a little sprucing up. 

Once home, I gave him a slight dusting of new paint and accentuated his eyes and bill with a little colorI played around with placing him in just the right spot in my house, and truthfully he just didn’t seem at home. Perhaps he was too large for my small place.

So, just for the time being, I stuck him in our antique booth. Beforehand I researched carved ducks and geese on Etsy and Ebay. I really go a deal! Some similar to mine were going for 200-300 dollars. On a whim, and because he didn’t quite fit in my home, priced him at $150.00. I really didn’t think he would sell. Our shop isn’t heavily trafficked. And we’re not in the ritzy part of town. In my mind I was just storing him there until I found the right spot for him at home. 

Two weeks later he sold at full price! I should have been happy with my find and profits, but I wasn’t. I was sad and missed him instantly. I still do. But that’s part of the business. Our original shop owner told me once to never get attached to anything. It’s just stuff passing through our hands. 

My only consolation in all this is that the woman who bought him is very happy. In fact, she saw him in our booth on Facebook and sent her daughter down to put him on layaway right away. I hoped they would change their minds, but alas, they didn’t. He went to his happy new home. 

The picture on the left shows how his head could be moved into four different positions so he could look any of four ways. 

The picture on the bottom shows the hand-carved detail in his feathers. When I painted him, I painted that a little darker and then lightly brushed over the feathers with a topcoat so that the detail would show.

I doubt I'll ever find something like this again. But from now on I’m a little more cautious about selling things. Yes, I do have a small house, so I need to be careful what I fall in love with, but when I do find that perfect item, I’ll think twice before selling.