Doe and Hope

Description

The preserved waterfowl, possibly a juvenile merganser, posed upon a naturalistic setting of a rocky outcrop with moss and grasses to a whimsical painted background of stylised blue grasses and birds in the distance, presented in its original stained pine case being glazed on three sides, the whole surviving from Edwardian period England.

The specimen is presented in good condition considering the age. The entire composition only shows wear commensurate with age and an expected fade to the plumage.

Mergansers live mainly on freshwater rivers and lakes and eat fish. They are rare in the ocean, but they sometimes use saltwater estuaries in winter.

The whimsical background painting here makes this for us, a more joyous example, then most.