Root-Head Merganser Decoy

A weathered wooden duck decoy lies on a pale surface against a dark gradient background. Its dark, cracked body is smooth and rounded, with a separate neck and head carved with a long, slender orange-brown bill, suggesting a merganser form.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late eighteenth or early nineteenth century

Medium

carved and painted cedar and tree root

Source

Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Size

3000 × 1803 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum